Retake
by mundane-pansycakes
Summary: (Sequel to Reinserted) Over the past 16 years, the human resistance has been building and building throughout the world. Plans of an uprising are in the air, and Wanda is anxious to take part, as is the rest of the group. Their daughter, Lena, proves to be an important pawn in the battle between Souls and humans. Will the humans finally win; or will they remain in the Soul's grasp?
1. Chapter 1

This takes place about 9 years after the events of my other fic, Reinserted.

* * *

"Almost ready?" Ian asks, poking his head through the door. He's wearing a dark green shirt that's covered in dirt - evidence of his work in the fields today. His hair is tousled, small curls forming at the ends, and his smile is wide and infectious. I find myself smiling back at him.

"Yes," I say, swinging my backpack over my shoulder. I head over to the door, where he's waiting with his own bag, and lean over to him. I kiss him gently on the lips before pulling away. His blue eyes are practically glowing. "Where is everybody?"

Ian takes my hand in his and we start heading down the tunnels. I catch bits and pieces of soft murmurs from the humans as we pass each of their rooms. "They're already at the cars. Jared's getting them ready."

I nod in reply as we make our way out of the caves, then dash through the cool, night air, racing for the caves where we keep the cars. When we arrive minutes later, out of breath and already filled with fatigue - luckily we'll get to sleep during the drive - we find that everybody is there already. Kyle and Jared are working on the Jeeps, loading them up and getting things in order. Mel is talking with Sunny, her eyes wide and full of excitement. Mel loves a good road-trip. Jamie is leaning against a wall, watching the two of them as they talk. And Jodi is standing off to the side, talking to Lena about something.

Lena's sixteen now, with long, tan legs and a small, curvy waist. Her brown hair reaches the small of her back, braided tightly down her spine. Freckles dot her face. Her lips and cheeks are the same shade of pink. And her eyes, shimmering silver, are full of excitement. As she talks, her whole body moves in an elegant manner. She's beautiful to look at.

"Lena," Ian calls, motioning for her to come over. Her eyebrows pop up at the sound of her name and she mutters something to Jodi before dashing over to us. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

She rolls her eyes, laughing. "Dad, stop. I'm not a little girl anymore," she reminds him, though I can still picture her like that - young and small, asleep in my arms. "It's going to be fine. It's just like a regular raid." She shrugs as if it's no big deal.

Lena's been on plenty of raids before - ever since she was eleven. Though I hate letting her go, I can't argue that she's great at raiding. She's just so sweet, such a talented liar, that she comes in handy a lot. But letting her come on this trip, a trip to meet with other resistance groups, is a big step. These are even more dangerous, more risky. If anything happened to her . .

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Ian says, voicing my own thoughts. "If any of the Souls see you they will-"

"They will what? Think I'm human?" she says, raising her eyebrows. She always pulls the "Soul-eyes" card on us. Despite the fact that she _is _human, her eyes contradict that fact, thanks to me. And neither Ian or I can argue that she doesn't look like a Soul. It's just a fact. "Come on, Dad. If anything, I should be worried about _you,_" she says, poking him in the chest.

"Okay, okay," I say, breaking them up, laughing despite my agreement with Ian. I'm terribly worried about Lena - but at the same time, I know she's even safer than most of our group. I turn to face my daughter, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Lena, your father is right. This is more dangerous than a simple shopping trip. We just want to make sure you're safe. But . . . on the other hand," I say, facing Ian. "She has a point. You're in ten times more danger than she is, Ian."

Ian's jaw tightens and I know that he's starting to worry even more. "But what if this group isn't in agreement with us on Souls. You know how some of them can react . . ." he trailed off, letting me finish the line of thought for myself. Memories from our meeting with Lynn, the woman who shot my old host - Petals - and killed her. Melanie barely saved me by inserting me back in herself, changing everything forever. Though Lynn later explained herself, it still scares me that some humans can react so impulsively upon seeing a Soul. If they saw Lena there wouldn't be time to explain that she is human.

"She'll be fine," I murmur, more to myself than Ian. I'm anxious to just get in the car and go so that the argument is closed. Luckily, Jared seems to be on the same line of thought as me. "Okay, let's get going!" he hollers, ending everybody's private conversations. "Kyle, Jodi, Mel and I in one car. Ian, Wanda, Lena, Jamie and Sunny in the other. Good?"

"No!" I reply immediately. "Jared, your car is all humans. That's _not _safe." There's no way he actually thought that was a good idea. A Seeker could stop our cars at any time. Without at least one Soul there to help cover, we'd be doomed.

"Yeah, Jar. Let's put Sunny and Jamie with Kyle and Jodi to even it out," Mel interrupts. Jared rolls his eyes but nods, knowing it's for the best. "The boys can drive until we reach the more populated area. Then let Sunny and Wanda drive."

"Fine," Kyle nods, opening the door to the Jeep on the left. "Let's get going!" He hops in and Jodi immediately follows, taking shotgun beside him. Sunny quickly gets into the backseat. Jamie hugs Mel quickly before jumping in beside her and slamming the door.

We pile into our own car: Mel and Jared up front, Ian and I in the middle, and Lena squeezed into the back seat. She doesn't seem to mind it, though; she's already laying comfortably against her bag, her eyes closed. I smile at her sleeping face before twisting back around in my seat. Ian takes my hand and holds it gingerly as we set off through the desert night.

* * *

After about an hour of driving in silence, as everybody's been sleeping, Mel nudges me awake. "Hmm?" I say, blinking my eyes rapidly.

"Sorry to wake you," she says, leaning over her seat to talk to me. "But we need to go over the plan."

"Okay," I say. Ian's still asleep but I'm assuming he already knows about it.

Mel runs through the plan with me: about how we're supposed to meet this group of resisters in two days. They live a lot farther away from us than I thought. It should take us the whole two days to get there, with just a short stop overnight at a hotel. This group is one of the largest left, apparently. They're said to have over fifty humans there with a few miscellaneous Souls. They're working side-by-side with some Souls who are in high-ranking positions such as Seekers and Healers. They've found a large amount of Souls who favor the humans and want to help them retake their planet. This group has set up some sort of communication system between all the human resisters and is trying to organize a sort of uprising. We're going there to gain more information, to figure out our role in all of this.

Sunny and I are coming, of course, to represent the Souls. Jared says that he'll handle most of the talking, but that we're allowed to pitch in on any of the Souls' concerns. We'll be staying there for roughly three days, though Jared thinks it could take longer, depending on how things go. On the way back, we plan on going on a quick shopping raid, though that's the least of our concerns.

"So how long till we stop?" I ask when they're done explaining.

"Another couple of hours," Jared sighs. "I'll wake you up when it's your turn to drive. Kyle's still driving back there, and we haven't passed any Seekers so far."

"If anything happens, switch places with me, okay?" I say, though I know he knows the drill. We've been through this plenty of times before.

"Of course, Wanda," he laughs. I assume he's rolling his eyes, though I can't see through his sunglasses. I smile and settle against Ian's shoulder, laying down comfortably. The soft hum of the jeep rocks me to sleep once again, though my mind races at the thought of the upcoming events.

* * *

**Okay, so I hope you guys liked this first chapter. So many people wanted a sequel that had to do with them actually fighting back for their planet, so that's what I'm going with :) Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Wanda, wake-up," somebody says, shaking me softly. I blink the sleep away then shift my eyes to find Ian looking down at me. "We're at the hotel."

"Oh," I say, surprised. I didn't realize I slept the whole car ride there. Jared and Mel are standing outside, talking quietly in the dark. From the looks of it, the other van is still occupied by the others. Lena's still sleeping in the backseat. "I'll go check us in."

"Bring Lena, will you?" Ian says, shocking me.

"_What_?" There's no way he's serious.

"It'd be suspicious for you to check out 4 separate rooms alone. She'll be fine." Ian sighs, finally giving into the fact that Lena could pass for a Soul, while he can't.

"Of course I will!" she pipes up from the backseat, making me jump.

"I thought you were asleep," I say, narrowing my eyes.

"Well, I was, but . . ." she starts, obviously trying to fish together a lie.

"But nothing," I interrupt, laughing a little. Lena was so much like Melanie in a sense - mischievous and manipulating, funny and tough - it's strange to think that they're not _actually _related. "You can come as long as you don't say anything, okay? I'll handle the talking." She opened her mouth to protest, but nodded reluctantly, probably due to the look that Ian was giving her. "We'll be out in a few minutes with the keys. Let Kyle know," I tell Ian. I give him a quick peck on the cheek before climbing out of the car, then pulling the seat forward to let Lena out. She hops out and follows me to the building, a small, quaint hotel with just a few lights on.

"Good evening, ladies," a Soul says as we enter the door from his place behind a desk. He's short and lean, with a shaven face and glowing eyes. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yes, I'd like to check out four rooms; just for the night," I tell him, smiling kindly. Over the years I've picked up on more and more human habits, making it harder for me to blend in easily with the Souls' mannerisms.

"Just for the night? Why the rush?" he inquires as he types something into a sleek, black computer.

"Oh, we're going to visit some friends a few cities over. They're having a birthday party tomorrow night and we wouldn't want to be late. We'll probably leave first thing in the morning," I explain calmly, having already thought out a fake story.

"Ah, 'sounds lovely!" the Soul agrees, smiling widely. "If I could just have your name."

"It's Sways with the Wind. And this is my daughter, Lena of the Stars," I tell him as he hands me over a few room keys, each with a number engraved inside of it.

"Is your partner here, by chance?" the man asks, raising an eyebrow, though not accusingly.

"Yes, he's out unloading the car with the others."

"Of course," the man smiles, sinking back into his chair. "Enjoy your stay. Please feel free to call if you need any assistance."

"Thank you very much," I tell him, slipping the keys into my pocket. I pull Lena along, out the door, and head back towards the cars. Before we get there, she nudges me in the side, a curious look on her face.

"Why do you always change your name on raids, but keep mine the same?" Her eyes are narrowed into an accusatory squint. I roll my eyes at her but she doesn't let up on the glare.

"Because people know my name, Lena."

"What do you mean?" she asks, though she very much knows the answer. I've told her the story many times before.

"Lena, don't act like you don't know," I scold her, smiling slightly. "I'm nearly positive Seekers still are on the lookout for both Mel and I. Probably Fords, too. I'm not exactly their favorite person. If anyone was to find out my name, we could all be taken away." She bites her lip - a trait she inherited from me - and looks away, saddened by the answer. It's a horrible thought but it's not an impossible thing. It _could _happen if we weren't careful.

"Got the rooms?" Kyle asks when we reach the car, leaning casually against the door. His arm is wrapped tightly around Jodi.

"Yes," I say, pulling the cards from my pocket and handing them out. "Be careful going in. The lobby lights are on and our rooms are on the third floor. Just keep your heads down."

"Yeah, yeah, we know the drill, Wanda," Jamie laughs, re-shouldering his bag. Sunny gives him a condescending look - she knows just as much as I do that this isn't something to joke about - and he finally nods in agreement.

"Let's leave around 6 or so. We can grab breakfast on the way," Jared says. Everybody approves of this before we head towards the entrance. Lena takes the front with Ian, Sunny in the middle, and I man the back - just to be safe. Hopefully, with enough Souls dispersed about the group we'll be fine.

Everybody tries to act casual as we enter, all looking tired but somewhat happy, faking the attitude of a Soul. "Have a good stay!" The Soul from the front desk calls as we board the elevator. Sunny sticks her head out and murmurs a thanks before the doors close.

I breathe a sigh of relief and Ian's hand tightens around my waist. Lena rolls her eyes at us.

When we reach our room, 317, the three of us pile in. Lena settles comfortably onto the couch and picks up the TV remote. Ian stores our bags in the closet, grabs some clothes, and heads for the bathroom. The sound of the shower starting comes shortly after.

"Lena, go to sleep. There's no use in staying up watching a bunch of lame television programs," I tell her, pulling my sweater over my head and slipping into a tee shirt. I then change into a pair of sweatpants, and Lena, grudgingly, does the same.

"I slept the whole way here," she argues, brushing through her long hair. I gesture for her to sit down on the bed and she does so, handing me the brush. I take it and run it gently down her golden brown strands, carefully smoothing out the ends.

"So did I, but tomorrow's going to be a long day. We won't stop until we get there, and we'll probably start figuring things out immediately. I don't want you to be exhausted during that. We have to be on our toes."

"Why?" she groans as I carefully begin to pull her hair into a thick braid.

"Because, Lena," I sigh, standing up so that I can face her. "You have to start getting used to the fact that we're not the only ones you have to worry about. I know that we can blend in easily, but your family - your father, your aunts and uncles - they can't. We have to watch out for them. If we're tired, we might become lazy and end up getting caught."

"We've been caught by Seekers before. You always handle it," she protests.

"Yes, but do you know how terrifying that is?" I ask her, my head filling with a burning sensation. "Every single raid we go on, I have to worry if it's the last time I'll see your father. Or my sister, or anybody. _I _may be able to get out if I'm caught - they'd probably just send me to another planet - but they wouldn't be able to. You have to understand that that's the scariest thing in the world for me, Lena. And I just can't be careless about it."

Her eyes have gone wide with regret and I know she's realized her mistake. She nods hesitantly before turning her back to me, letting me finish her hair. After tying a ponytail around the end of it, she sulks over to the couch and lays across it, her back to me. Ian finally comes out of the bathroom, dripping wet, and gives me a curious look. I shake my head, not wanting to talk about it. I grab the extra blanket from the closet and drape it over Lena before climbing into bed. Ian joins me, his arms encircling me immediately. He kisses the back of my head and I close my eyes, happy to have his comfort.

"No one's going anywhere, Wanda," he whispers to me. He must've overheard some of our conversation. "Don't worry. Please. We're all staying right here - with you."

I can only hope he's right.


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you so much, sir," I tell the Soul at the front desk as we pass through the lobby the next morning, trying to distract him from watching the humans too closely. They're talking quietly as they shuffle through the lobby with their bags, looking down or away as to avoid the Souls' eyes.

"Of course, Sways with the Wind. I hope that you have a safe journey, and a lovely party," he says, accepting the room keys I hand to him.

"I hope so too," I smile. The rest of the lobby is quiet, meaning that they must have all gotten to the car. "Thank you, again," I call as I exit the building, stopping only to snatch my bag off of a chair.

I reach the car only to find that Jared wants me to drive. I nod and slide into the drivers' seat, Ian next to me. His sunglasses are on, covering his beautiful blue eyes. "We're going to stop along the way for breakfast, Wanda," Jared says from behind me. "Let's drive for an hour or so until we find a place."

"Okay," I say, starting the car and pulling out of the lot. I check my mirrors to make sure that Sunny's right behind me, seated behind the wheel, next to Kyle.

We drive in silence for a while, everybody still groggy from the early wakeup time. After a bit we stop at a bakery to grab something to eat. Sunny runs in and gets us all muffins and bagels, still warm. Once everybody's eaten, we continue on the road.

Lena hums from the back of the car, as she always does, and I smile to myself. She has such a lovely voice and we so rarely get to hear music in the caves.

In front of her, Mel and Jared are discussing something quietly, fiercely. I only catch a few words: _raid, Souls, scared,_ _Jason. _They must be talking about their son; Mel seems worried about him. Jason is fifteen, born just a year after Lena, but he opted out of joining us on the raid. He prefers to stay uninvolved with the catastrophic world, chooses to believe that the caves are all there is. Mel's scared that he really thinks this - that there's no outside world - but Jared thinks he's just scared of accepting it. Either way, the two have been arguing about it for a long time, now, both scared for their son.

"Hey, you okay?" Ian says.

"Huh?" I say, shaken out of my thought process. We've been driving on the freeway for a long time and I'm starting to get somewhat hypnotized by it.

"You just seemed to be thinking hard. Something on your mind?" His voice is laced with concern and I ache to ease his worries.

"No, I'm fine," I reply, blinking furiously to get focused again. Ian doesn't seem to like my answer.

"Do you want me to drive for a while?" He reaches his hand out towards me, strokes my back.

"No, it's not safe," I say. We've past three Seeker cars within the past hour, probably due to the fact that everybody's going to work around the time, and I'm not taking any chances.

"If you're thinking about what Lena said, don't be," Ian says. "You have to remember that she only knows what we tell her. She doesn't understand everything about the world right now; hasn't had much exposure."

I bite my lip and grip the steering wheel tightly. "I know," I murmur. "I wasn't thinking about her. I wasn't thinking about . . anything, really."

And it's true. I've just been blindly driving, my mind not really anywhere in particular. Though Ian's mention of Lena reminds me of our conversation last night. She still doesn't seem to grasp the concept of what the Seekers could do to our family if they found us. She hasn't witnessed it firsthand like we all have.

"You know what's coming up?" Ian says after a while.

"No, what?" I ask, glad to switch subjects.

"Somebody's birthday . . ."

I almost slam my foot on the brakes, so angered that Ian would mention this. Ever since Pet, the humans have made it a tradition to celebrate the day of my insertion as my birthday. Everybody else in the cave celebrates theirs - they don't have to work for a day, get extra servings at meals, while the younger kids get a cake. Ian thought that I should have one, too, though even _I _don't know when my real birthday is. It's stupid, really, but Ian and Mel both insist that we celebrate it.

"Thirty six, right?" Ian asks, raising an eyebrow. "Somebody's getting oooolddd," he laughs, making me nudge him in the side.

"You shouldn't be talking. You're, what, forty-three?" I smile. The age difference between us has never been weird, mainly since everybody in the caves is kind of indifferent to it. Mel and Jared are nine years apart, after all. When there's only a limited amount of people left in the world, you tend to forget about superficial things like age.

"Actually," Lena says, turning to listen into our conversation. "Mom's probably two-million-three-hundred-and-five by now."

I glare back at her for a split second, making even Jared and Mel laugh. "I am _not." _I shake my head, roll my eyes.

"Oh, sorry, two-million-three-hundred-and-_four_. My bad," Lena grins. Mel high fives her.

"Oh, shut up," I reply. Ian's laughing beside me, making me giggle, too. "I'm only around a thousand or two years old, Lena. It's not like I was born when the Earth was first created."

"Of course not," Lena laughs. "Only a couple days after that."

The boys laugh for a long time at that, both taking pleasure in the light conversation.

"Let's settle on thirty-six for now," Mel says, settling it. Mel herself was only three years older.

"Still pretty old," Lena whispers from the back. Ian reaches back and smacks her in the shoulder playfully. She laughs and slaps him back.

"Okay, okay, enough!" I announce, unable to keep the smile off of my face. Everyone settles down, though we're all still smiling. It was nice to have some humor during the drive.

* * *

We drive for many more hours, Ian taking over for me when I start to grow tired. We have one run-in with a Seeker towards the end of the day, luckily while I'm driving. She quickly realizes that everyone but me is asleep and let's us pass through, along with Sunny's car.

Towards what is roughly eleven PM, Jared tells us we're in the area. The group is living in an old mansion, which the Souls of the group rented. From what we know, the majority of the humans live in the basement area, which they expanded upon, while the upstairs remains inhabited by only the Souls - so as not to blow their cover. Luckily, they have roughly ten Souls who live up there, making it plausible that they inhabit the large mansion alone.

"Are you sure this is it?" I ask as Jared directs us down a narrow street, only lit by a few miscellaneous street-lamps.

"I'm positive," he says, pointing for me to turn right onto another sidestreet. "The message we got said they were at the very end of this street, kind of hidden behind the trees . . ." Jared leans over the cupholders to get a better look. He squints through the mirror as I continue to drive through, Ian looking on the other side. "There! Right at the end. See that driveway?"

I turn my eyes in the direction he's pointing and smile widely. Sitting at the end of the street, shaded mostly by tall pinetrees, is a large, stone house, lacking any sign of habitation. No lights, no clean windows, nothing. I wonder why the group would keep it like that if the pretend the Souls live there.

I pull the Jeep up to the end of the drive and park it there, Sunny following suit. "I'm going to go check it out," Jared says.

"No way!" I say, stopping him. "Sunny and I will go. For all we know, Seekers could have come and taken them all. It's better to be safe."

Jared shares a glance with Mel, who nods in agreement with me, before sighing and shutting his door. "Ask for Margaret. Jeb said she's the leader."

"Okay," I say, slipping outside. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Keep the doors locked and the lights off just in case. Don't worry about us if anything happens."

"Wand-"

"Ian, please. If anything seems wrong, just drive. Sunny and I can get a car easily if we need to." He opens his mouth to say more, but seems to realize it's true. If they suspect anything, they should leave us. We can handle ourselves.

He nods reluctantly and I close the door shut. I gesture for Sunny to follow and we head up the long path together. It's cold outside, despite the fact that we're in a dessert, and I hug myself to keep warm. "Is he sure this is it?" Sunny murmurs, scared. Her large, round eyes look at me with fright. All I can do is shrug.

When we finally reach the door, I ring the bell. We wait patiently for a minute or two until someone finally swings the door open. The man is tall and muscular, dressed in a robe, probably having just woken up. His hair is a tousled sea of gold and his eyes are bright green, rimmed in silver. "May I help you?" His voice is scratchy yet delicate. An odd combination.

"Yes. We're looking for a woman named Margaret. Does she happen to live here?" I say, hoping to sound innocent enough.

The man narrows his eyes at us, then glances down the drive to where our cars reside. A grin forms on his face and he tilts his head back, calls out something I can't hear. "I'm Miles of Green." The man says, leaning against the door. "And _you _must be Wanderer."


	4. Chapter 4

I stare at the Soul in shock, my mouth hanging open. Sunny glances at me nervously but I shake my head. Did Jeb ever tell this group my name? Or is this all a trap?

"You are Wanderer, correct?" The Soul says, now trying to place a more welcoming expression on his face. "A group is supposed to be meeting with us tomorrow with a Soul named Wanderer."

I swallow hard, still not sure if this is a trap. Just as I'm about to answer, to try to decipher whether this is real or not, a small, fragile looking women pushes her way to the door and nudges Miles of Green aside. "Please, Miles. She probably thinks you're a Seeker" the women says, giving him a look. That was exactly what I thought.

She has soft, black hair that ends at her waist. She's about the size of Pet - small and petite in a dainty way. The light wrinkles in her face show that she is growing older by the minute. Yet her eyes are warm and blue, revealing that she is a human. We're in the right place. "Sorry about that, my dear. We just wanted to confirm that you're with Jeb's group. You are, aren't you?"

"Yes," I smile, relieved. Sunny does the same. "I'm Wanda and this is Sunny. The humans are waiting in the car-"

"- Just to be safe," the women finishes, smiling. "I'm Margaret. I run the resistance here and we're honored to have you. We have much to discuss, of course, with all of you. But that can wait till tomorrow. You must all be so tired and hungry." She gives a gentle smile before turning around to Miles. "Go prepare the extra beds and bring out some left over food for our guests, will you?" The Soul nods, still giving Wanda a sly look, before walking away.

"Why don't you gather the rest of your group? Then we can head down to your rooms."

"Thank you," I tell her. Sunny says the same before following me down the long driveaway again. "They seem nice."

Sunny nods in agreement. "Except for Miles. He seems a little . . . suspicious." I can't help but agree with her. Most Souls are more welcoming and kind, whereas Miles seemed mischievous and almost creepy.

"Maybe he was just being cautious of us. We could have been Seekers for all he knew," I try to reason, though I know it's not true. Something was up with that Soul.

We reach the car and Ian kisses me when he steps out, glad I'm okay. "We're good to go in?" Jared says, lifting up two large bags and heaving them over his shoulders.

"Positive. The woman, Margaret, was there. She said we can discuss things tomorrow, after we eat and rest." I purposefully leave out Miles, knowing Ian would get worried about me if I brought his weird behavior up.

We all grab our things and make our way up the driveway, then file into the house. Margaret awaits us at the door, saying hellos to everybody as we pass through. "I'm so glad you made it here safely. Another group was traveling from across the country a few weeks ago and they nearly got caught. Did you run into any trouble?"

"No, we had a rather easy ride," Jared says, grinning wide. He loves meeting other humans. It always brings him joy to know that others are alive, surviving just as we do. "I'm Jared, by the way. Appointed leader for this trip." They shake hands and Melanie rolls her eyes. "This is my wife, Melanie."

"Pleasure to meet you."

We go through introductions, everybody stating their name and relationship to each other. When Ian introduces Lena as our daughter, Margaret's eyes widen. She doesn't question us, but I expect she will later. Instead, she simply leads us down a long flight of stairs into the basement, instructing us to be quiet, as most of the group was sleeping.

"If it's not too much trouble, we ask that the Souls of the group sleep upstairs. With such a large group of humans, it's a safety precaution." Ian gives me a troubled look and I can tell he's about to object, but I shake my head slightly. We shouldn't argue. "There are three rooms down here, though, that you can use. Divide them up as you please. Some food has been set out in each of them in case you're hungry." Margaret smiles and shrugs. "And I guess that's about it! We'll talk a lot in the morning, of course. Please let me know if you need anything."_  
_

"Thank you so much. This really is a nice place you're running," Melanie smiles. And it was true. The basement area was huge, with a large common room in the center and different hallways branching out of it. It was an actual house, with clean walls and soft beds; unlike the caves. How they did this befuddled me, but awed me all the same.

With that, everybody splits apart, choosing their rooms. Jared and Mel slip into the first one on the right, shutting the door without a word. I laugh at that. Kyle and Jodi take another on the left, leaving the rest of us standing there in confusion.

"I should stay upstairs with you, Wanda. Nothing's going to happen," Ian says, touching my cheek lightly.

"Ian, it's not our place to make the rules. You heard what Margaret said - there are over fifty people living here, most of them human. If a Seeker were to come into the house right now, you know it'd be safer if I was upstairs." He grimaces and turns to Jamie, who's having trouble parting with Sunny as well. But he seems to have accepted it rather fast, nodding slowly.

"Wanda's right, Ian. We have to do what's safest." Ian looks away, his jaw tightening.

"It's okay, babe," I whisper, kissing him softly on the cheek. "I'll be fine. It's only for a few hours." He meets my gaze and presses his forehead against mine. His deep, blue eyes stare into my soul.

"Fine. Jamie and I will stay together." He sighs. I smile in relief. "And Lena."

"Okay," I agree. Even though we should probably take Lena in our room, I know that Ian won't let me win that battle. Lena sighs and follows her father towards the room.

We turn around to Margaret, who's standing off to the side, waiting for us to decide the rooming arrangements. "We'll bring an extra cot to that room for your daughter, Wanda." Thankfully, Margaret doesn't argue that Lena should sleep upstairs. Sunny and I follow her back up into the large entrance of the old mansion. She leads us down a hall where a few rooms sit, most of the doors closed. There's one open on the left, towards the end. She gestures us in and waits at the door. "I'll be downstairs in the same hallway as your friends. 3rd room on the right. Don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you so much, again. We really appreciate it."

"Of course," she smiles before closing the door, leaving Sunny and I alone.

We both change rather quickly than pile into the bed, complete with soft covers and fluffy pillows. I flick the lights off and close my eyes, trying to breathe evenly. It's been a long time since I've slept without Ian by my side. It feels almost . . empty without him. Like I'm missing an important gear in my mind required to fall asleep.

Sunny must be feeling the same way, as she tosses and turns. "Wanda?" she whispers after ten minutes.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever wonder what it'd be like if all of this never happened? If we never came to Earth and the humans were just living their own lives?" Her voice is quiet and hesitant and I turn over so that I can see her clearly. I nod slowly. "I mean, I know that everybody loves us. That they accept us . . . but I wonder if they're ever angry with us."

"Sunny, it's not our faults. They came to Earth while we were asleep in cyrotanks. We couldn't have stopped them if we tried. No one blames us," I tell her. Mel, I think, was the first one to realize that. When I first got here, everybody blamed _me _specifically for the Souls taking over. She finally started to understand that I had no role in it, that I was just born into this life, unwillingly.

"I know that," Sunny says, looking up at me. Her eyes glow brightly in the dark, wide and full of wonder. "But don't you think some part of them is angry at us? Even just a little bit? I mean, they could be living a perfectly normal life right now. Going to work everyday. Coming home to a family. Walking out in public and eating normal food. Not living underground and fearing for their lives everyday.

"They could have had everything they wanted. Jamie could have been an astronaut or a teacher or something incredible. He could have had a beautiful, human wife and as many kids as he wanted."

"Sunny," I murmur, reaching out and touching her hand gingerly. "He doesn't want that. He has everything he wants. He has _you_. And that's all that matters to him," I whisper. Sunny's always been weird about Jamie. I suspect it's because some part of her still loves Kyle. Mel was the one that suggested she talk to Jamie to try to get her mind off of him, surprisingly. Mel wanted her brother to find somebody, of course, but I doubt she ever expected that person to be Sunny. But once they were together for a while, they were inseparable. They've been that way ever since.

"He wants a family, though, Wanda. I know he does," she whispers, small tears escaping. "I just . . I can't do that. I'm too scared of what will happen." I reach out my hand and stroke her arm gently. After we figured out what happened with Lena, she's been too scared to have a child of her own, despite how much she desperately wants one. She doesn't want to bring somebody into a world where they could be killed for the color of their eyes. Jamie understands this, but we all know how much he wants a son.

"I know you're scared, Sunny - and that's okay. But Jamie loves you. He respects your decisions and your fears and your differences. That's what love is," I tell her, smiling gently.

She nods and swallows back her tears, wipes her face. She takes a deep breath before turning over, facing away from me. "Thank you, Wanda," she tells me. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sunny."

* * *

**I really wanted to touch on what Sunny & Jamie's relationship was exactly, since I never really got to that. So what do you think? Good pairing or no?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Important Note: School has started for me, as well as three plays I'm in, so I won't be able to update as often. I will try to post once a week (probably on the weekends) but if not I apologize in advance!**

* * *

The next morning, a warm hand brushes against my shoulder. I roll over to identify who it is, assuming it's Sunny, but find Ian standing over me, his black hair tousled from sleep. "Hi, honey," I say, pushing myself up on my elbows. He leans over and kisses me gently on the forehead before taking a seat on the bed. A quick look around the room tells me that Sunny's already up and gone. "You sleep okay?"

"Actually, no," he says, smiling slightly. "I missed having you beside me." I blush way more than I should at this and duck my head. I felt the same way. "We're going to have a meeting with Margaret's group in half an hour. I thought you'd want to go grab some breakfast."

"Oh, yes," I say, popping out of the bed and walking over to my bag. I shuffle through my belongings until I find a clean pair of shorts and a tank top. I face away from Ian, though I know he's still looking, and quickly change. When I'm done, I brush my hair till it's smooth while Ian watches me from across the room. I can't help but shake my head at him. "Let's go," I laugh grabbing him and pulling him out the door.

Once we go downstairs, I find that the house is as packed as possible. There are so many people, all wondering around, talking, heading in different directions. Souls and humans alike. Some young kids and some older adults, even grandparents. I wonder again how Margaret managed to make this place thrive.

"The kitchen's this way," Ian says, pointing down the second hall on the left. We follow the flow of people that way - some of them giving us curious looks, others smiling, welcoming - and finally reach a large room full of miscellaneous tables and chairs. Ian leads me over to a table of food, where I grab myself a piece of bread and some eggs. It takes a while, but we finally spot where our friends are sitting.

"Morning, Wanda, Ian," Mel smiles, scooting over so I can sit beside her. Lena doesn't even acknowledge us, but just continues her conversation with Jamie.

"Hey, Mel," I say, then look across the table at Jared. "What's the plan?"

Jared finishes his bite and takes a long drink of water before answering. "Margaret and a few of the others in her group are going to talk with us about their plans to take over the planet again. We're going to try to figure out how they're communicating between groups, since that would help a lot." Jared takes another bite before finishing up. "And I don't really know what else. We'll probably exchange knowledge and such. But we'll have to see."

"Sounds good," Ian nods, taking a large bite of toast.

We eat for a while longer until the strange Soul from yesterday, Miles of Green, approaches our group. "Good morning. If you would all please follow me upstairs." His silver eyes focus for a second too long on me before flicking back to the whole group. "Margaret is ready to speak with you."

Ian and I exchange a look of concern. Kyle just shrugs and stands up, ready to follow. I sigh and go after them, as does the rest of the group.

Miles leads us upstairs and into a dining room. All the blinds have been closed so that the only light is coming from a dim, old chandelier. Seated at the table are Margaret, three Souls and four other humans - all of various ages and genders. Some of them look vaguely familiar, probably from breakfast, but no one strikes me as memorable, aside from Margaret of course.

"I'm glad you all had a chance to sleep and eat," she says, standing up from her chair to greet us. "Thank you, Miles," she says, addressing the Soul, who then sits down at the end of the table. "Hopefully we can get this business out of the way as soon as possible!" The woman seems very cheerful for discussing an alien invasion. "Please, take a seat."

Jared's the first one to move, sitting opposite of Margaret. Mel slides in beside him and we soon fill up the remaining seats. Lena sits in between Ian and I, directly across from Miles.

"So, as you all know, the human race is dwindling out. There are so few groups left of resisters that it's almost inevitable we will eventually die out. We've come in contact with forty-two other groups around the world, some very small while others are around your size." The numbers surprise me. _Forty-two? _That's incredible. A spark of hope burns inside of me as I think about what that number means. "We have devised a plan to peacefully discuss the Souls' departure from Earth. We plan to get some of the major, influential Seekers on our side, then work together to address the government. We already have a number of Souls on the inside working with us, most in high positions such as Seekers or Healers. They are working every day to try to convert the other Souls' thoughts on humans, to slowly ease them into the idea that we are good people."

"You think we'll be able to win back our planning by simply _negotiating?" _Kyle sneers, leaning forward. Jodi nudges him in the side to get him to quiet down.

A man sitting beside Margaret, who's maybe thirty or so, addresses Kyle. "Yes, we do," he smirks. "I'm sure Wanderer here will tell you that the last thing the Souls would do was wage a war."

"Wanda," I correct.

"Huh?" the man says, furrowing his brows.

"It's Wanda," I repeat. Only Ian and Mel call me Wanderer. I don't like the idea of this random human calling me that.

"Sorry, _Wanda."_

I nod in thanks, then speak up. "It's true. You know me - I still rarely yell." Ian laughs as does Mel and a few others. "Most Souls would never even _think _in violent terms, let alone act on those thoughts. The chance of Souls fighting against us physically is very low."

"Yeah, but do you honestly think they'll just let us talk? They'd probably just fill us with chloroform and turn us into one of them," Jared argues. I can't deny the fact that he's probably right.

"We understand that that's a concern," Margaret says, holding up her hands to keep the peace. "But if we have enough Souls on our side, we feel that it'd be possible to use them as, well, protectors of sorts. "

She lets this sink in and I look questioningly towards Ian. He shakes his head, obviously not liking the sound of this. "Look, I think this is a great idea and all, but we're going to need a surefire plan. We can't risk losing the _entire_ remaining human population to the Souls for one confrontation that _might _work. It's just not worth it."

"Well, do you suggest anything better?" The man from before asks.

Silence follows. Nobody has a better plan. I'm about to ask more questions, ensure that they've thought it all out, before a soft voice speaks up. "We could give them a reason to leave."

It's Lena, her head low and her voice quiet. But everyone hears her, and we all look in.

"What?" Margaret asks, leaning forward with curiosity.

Lena takes a shaky breath then looks at me. I nod, encouraging her to go on. "We give them a reason to leave. Show them that . . . that this planet isn't worth it."

A young Soul with soft black hair gives Lena inquisitive look. "What do you mean?" she asks. "We can't destroy the planet. That will only doom ourselves as well."

Lena shakes her head, obviously not ready for this kind of attention. I reach out and touch her back gently in an attempt to comfort her. "I don't know. I just thought that if there was some sort of way to show the Souls that humans aren't great hosts . . . they would leave." She shrugs.

"Interesting," Miles says, leaning back in his chair and pondering Lena's suggestion. "You're a smart Soul."

"She's not a Soul," I murmur, though he ignores it. Lena doesn't seem bothered by it.

Nobody talks for a while as we all try to bring new ideas to the table. No one comes out successful, and we sit in silence for at least ten minutes. "How about we come back to that later? Right now, we'll fill you in," Margaret says cheerfully, breaking the tense quiet. "Blue, if you will."

She gestures to the young Soul with black hair, who smiles kindly at us. "I used to be a Seeker. I've been here since we came to Earth and used to believe that humans were terrible creatures. It was only until I became attached to a human we captured that I realized how wonderful they truly are." I wonder for a moment who the person was, if they were here at Margaret's, or if they became overtaken by my species. "I quickly left the Seekers, pretending to switch professions and move across the country, and came here. I used some of the technology I received as a Seeker to track down popular areas for surviving humans. I found Margaret with only ten others a little ways away from and told her of my story, how I wanted to help.

"Ever since then, I've been working secretly with other Seekers to help bring them to our side. I often recruit other Souls, tell them about the humans, and most of them switch sides easily. Once they understand humans, they are very accepting of them. When we brought Healers in here, they helped us with inserting and removing Souls, which brought a lot more humans in. I was then able to switch out of my old body in order to give life to my host, and into another one who would not awaken - as have all of the other Souls residing here.

"All of the Seekers I have recruited have stayed in their positions as to help regulate things from the inside. If they find a human group, rather than tracking them down, they let me know. They also are the reason we can communicate between groups. I simply give them a message and they're able to send it all over the world with their technology. The other groups can get it within a matter of days."

I sit there, shocked, listening as Blue talks. She has such a major role in all of this. I doubt I'd ever be capable to arrange all of this on my own. I quickly realize I trust Blue, even look up to her as a Soul.

"With your help, we could maybe gain even more supporters from the Souls. "The three of your Souls - sorry, what are your names?"

"Sunny."

"Le-" she starts, but I quickly cut her off.

"She's not a Soul."

"Bu-"

"No," I interrupt, cutting Blue off. "Lena is not a Soul and she will not be treated as one. Got it?" I raise my voice and look all the others in the eye. They have questioning, confused, looks on their faces but I'm not in the mood to explain Lena to them now.

"Mom, it's -"

"No. You're not a Soul and they won't treat you as one." Lena swallows and sinks back into her chair. "Sunny and I will help, as well as our Healer Fords back in the caves. But that's it," I tell Blue. "What do you want us to do?"

Blue, a bit scared but still maintaining her composure, sits up tall in her chair and looks hesitantly at Margaret. She nods slightly and I start to worry. She then switches her glance between Sunny and I, back and forth again. "We need you to work on the inside."


	6. Chapter 6

**Woah. Totally just realized I have 2 Delirium names in here (Lena and Blue). Did not intend for that. Blue's full name is Blue of the Sea and I chose the name Lena for it's meaning (explained in Reinserted). GET READY FOR O'WANDA!**

* * *

"No," Ian blurts out before I even have a chance to process what she's saying. _We need you to work on the inside._

"Ian, if-"

"No," he repeats. "There's no way she's leaving the caves. We need her." He looks pointedly at Blue, though I know that it's not solely her idea, before sitting back in his chair.

Margaret looks uncomfortably at Ian before sighing. "I know that it's not the ideal situation, but it's the only way you can truly help us. Without at least one or two Souls on the inside, there's nothing else you really can do."

"Look, we understand that it'd be helpful to the resistance, but it's just not possible," Jamie says, choosing Ian's side. "They're part of our family now."

"We know that," Blue counters. "As our all of the Souls we have here. But more than half of them work on the inside. We do what we need to do to survive."

"But that's different," Melanie says, looking angrily at Blue. I can tell she doesn't like her. "You live right on the edge of society. The Souls in your group can leave for the day and come back at night. We don't have that luxury. We live in the middle of the desert. It takes hours just to get back to a road, let alone a city where they could possibly work. If we were to have them travel that path every day, there's a huge chance Seekers would catch onto us."

"I'm not saying you should have them do that every day," Blue says, her voice calm and steady. She looks at Sunny and I, her eyes flickering nervously between us. "I'm saying they should move into a city. Live there for a while, build some allies."

"_What?" _Ian roars, his face filling with anger, contorting into an expression full of hatred. "No. No way. They're not just leaving us! That's not possible!"

"Ian, calm down," I tell him, reaching over Lena and gently placing a hand on his arm.

"No! I won't calm down," he retorts, shaking my hand off. "They're suggesting that you leave us just so that they can maybe gain one more ally. It's not worth it and it's not going to happen."

"Everything is worth it when it comes to taking back our planet," a young man who hasn't spoken the whole time says. His eyes are bright green, with striking black hair sweeping across his forehead. "We're going to have to make some sacrifices if it means saving ourselves."

"What is there to save?" Ian yells. "We're fine like this! Nobody's dying, nobody's sick! We all have our lives figured out - why do we have to change that?"

Kyle looks over at him and shakes his head. "Ian, look, I know that you love Wanda, but that doesn't mean we don't want our planet back," he says, shrugging as if this is no big deal. "Yeah, everybody's fine but we're living in _hiding. _We could get captured any day, Ian. That's no way to live."

Everybody's quiet for a moment. Ian finally pushes his chair back and storms out of the room, muttering as he goes. Lena buries her head, looking at her lap. Sunny looks uncomfortable beside Jamie and Kyle, both of them angered by the circumstances. "I'm sorry, Blue," I tell the Soul gently, apologizing for Ian. "He's usually not like this." Blue nods, understanding. Kyle tilts his head towards the door in which Ian left, silently asking if I should go or not. I hold up a finger. I'll leave in a minute.

"I'm not sure Sunny will agree with me on this, but I think that - if it would move things along with the rebellion - I could go work for you in the city. On the inside."

"Wanda!" Mel gasps, leaning over her seat and staring at me with wide, scared eyes. "No! You can't!"

"Mel, I need to do what's best for everybody. And if leaving the caves for a little while is going to help retake your planet, your species, then I need to do that." I look sadly over at her before ducking my head, not willing to continue this conversation.

"Wanda, you can't leave us," Jamie says, though I don't meet his eyes. "You're part of our family. You can't just go . . ."

"If it's what's best for the human race-"

"Then screw the human race!" Mel says, standing up, her face tinted with fury. She looks at me with the most heartbreaking look in her eyes, as if they're made of glass and they'll shatter the second I leave. I don't want to watch them burst. "We_ need _you, Wanda. You're a part of our family. You have been for years. We can't just let you go. There's plenty of other Souls who can do this job for you. You don't have to be one of them - and neither does Sunny."

Sunny looks up at this, her lip trembling and her wide eyes full of terror. I wonder whether she agrees with me or not. Is she willing to leave Jamie and the rest of her family behind to help the humans? I'm not sure.

"I've gotta agree with Mel, Wanda," Jared says, shaking his head. "We need you here with us."

"And what about Lena?" Jodi asks, gesturing to her. Her eyes are still glued to her lap and I suddenly realize I completely forgot about how this would impact her. "You can't just leave her alone."

"She'd have Ian."

"Yes, but Ian's not you, Wanda," Mel whispers. "We all need y_ou." _ She stares at me for a moment before I finally turn back to the other group, who have been silently observing as we argue.

"I'll have to think about it, Blue," I tell her, simply. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go find Ian." I push my chair back and head out the door, without waiting for a response. I can hear whispers fill the room as I leave, nervous and confused, worried and unsure. I don't look back, but just continue on.

* * *

I find Ian in my temporary bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at his hands, wrapped around each other like a knot. He doesn't move when I walk in. I quietly close the door and walk over to the bed, sit down beside him.

"I have to do what's best for everybody, Ian," I whisper, placing my hand gentle on his thigh. He doesn't look at me. "I know that you car-"

"You just don't get it, Wanda!" he interrupts, his voice quiet but full of so much intensity it makes me jolt backwards. "I just don't _care _about you. I _love _you,Wanda! I need you in my life, every single day. You're always trying to do something selfless, trying to make everybody else happy but you never think about me! I need you here with me. With Lena." He stops for a moment and tilts his head slightly towards me. His blue eyes are full of tears, like the ocean itself is overflowing. I place a hand gently on top of his and wait for him to finish. My chest tightens as each second passes.

"Wanda," he starts, now looking at me in the eyes. "You know I love you. And I know that you're trying - you try _so _hard to do what's right - but you need to just let it go for this. There's no way you're leaving us; nobody would let you. They have other Souls who can do this for them. We'll win this war eventually; there's no rush. You just need to stay here." He looks away and runs a hand through his dark hair. "You. Are. Not. Leaving. Me." The words make me shudder, bringing me back to the day I left him to save Mel. He says them more quietly now, more intently, but they hold all the more emotion. I swallow hard.

It takes all my will power not to object. I want to help Margaret out so badly, no matter how much I would hate leaving everyone I love behind. I feel as if it's my duty to right this wrong. But I need to focus on Ian for now.

I lean in and gingerly kiss him on the lips, my arms slipping around him, cupping his face. I scoot over so that I'm sitting on his lap and his arms encircle me. I move my lips up to his forehead, across his lids, and back to his lips. When I pull away, I stare into his sea-blue eyes and smile slightly. "I will stay with you."

He smiles slightly as I press my lips back against him, easing him backwards, against the bed. He moves his hands to my waist, supporting me up. My hair falls around us like a curtain and I giggle against his lips. The warm, sugary taste of him melts me inside, runs through my blood and makes me shiver with pleasure.

With one quick movement he flips me over and begins to remove my close, trailing kisses across my skin as he works. He pulls my pants off as he kisses my stomach, then slips my shirt over my head as stares into my eyes. I blush as he places his hands against my bare skin, kissing my neck and making me sigh. I can't help but reach out and clutch his shirt, inch it off desperately. He laughs at me - a low, sexy laugh that makes my heart beat faster.

I push myself up into a sitting position and Ian follows. I circle his waist and quickly work on his jeans, unzipping them as fast as I thought possible. Once they're off, I push myself against him, letting him kiss me, letting him feel every part of me. My breath quickens as he unsnaps my bra and throws it to the side. His hands tickle as they run down my chest; I tilt my head back in pleasure.

He finally lays back and I stay on top of him, kissing him everywhere possible. His hands are all over me, sending zaps of warmth throughout me, a beautiful sensation.

"I will not leave you," I whisper against his lips, pushing myself against him. We fit together perfectly, our bodies so in sync after all these years.

"No, you won't," he smiles before rolling me over. He kisses the nape of my neck and I gasp, only to find myself frozen at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Ian stops and looks at me, smiling mischievously. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Lena says from outside. "Are you okay?"

Ian and I lock eyes. "Shit." He immediately rolls off the bed. I laugh as he rushes around to gather his clothes. "Yeah, honey, one second."

Ian tosses me my shirt and I throw it on. I see my undergarments sprawled on the floor and kick them under the bed, then wrap myself in blankets, just as Ian opens the door. "What's up?" he asks Lena, who's looking suspiciously at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were, um, okay." She glances uncomfortably between Ian and I and I worry that she knows what just went on. After all, she is sixteen. She's not completely oblivious.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, sweetheart," Ian says, kissing the top of her head. She rolls her eyes.

I expect her to go, to find Jamie or somebody to talk to. But she stands there for a moment longer, looking uncomfortable. "What is it?" I ask her hesitantly.

"I - uh, I just -" she stutters, blinking furiously. "You're not actually going to leave us, are you?" Her eyes, a mix of blue and silver, are wide and scared. I remember how stupid I was to forget how this would affect Lena.

"No, sweetie," I confess, giving her a slight smile. "I'm going to stay here. I promise."

She takes a deep breath, a sigh of relief, before grinning. "Good." She seems embarrassed by the statement and quickly recovers. "I mean, it's not like I need you or anything . . it's just, you know, Aunt Mel would be pretty upset," she lies. I smile at her and laugh. She's so adorable.

"Yeah, of course."

She bites her lip and looks over at Ian, then back at me. "Well, thanks. Um . . I'll let her know you're okay," she says before darting out of the room. Ian closes the door and smiles, shaking his head as he crawls back into our bed.

"That girl . . ." he mutters, wrapping me up in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

That night I go to meet in private with Blue. After leaving our room, Lena went to tell everybody that I planned on staying in the caves. Apparently, Margaret's group wasn't too happy with that. The meeting was dismissed for the day and Blue came to our room, asking to speak with me after dinner.

We ate with the others, everybody a little on edge from this afternoon. Mel kept looking at me nervously, as if I was going to leave them right now. Ian held onto my hand the whole time. He wasn't letting me go anytime soon.

I walk two doors down the hall from my room to where Blue lives. I knock on the door and she opens it, a tight smile on her face. "Hi, Wanda," she says. "You can come in." I walk inside and take a seat on the edge of her bed. Her room is quite nice, with the walls painted a warm, blue color. Stacks of books are piled up along the walls, along with neat piles of clothes. She even has some miscellaneous trinkets on a small table beside her bed. I assume she brought all of this stuff from where she lived as a Soul.

She walks in sits beside me, pushing a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. She takes a deep breath before speaking. "I know that you're hesitant to leave your family. I understand that. But without help from your group, it may be impossible to extend our resistance. Every other group we've come in contact has donated at least one of their members to our cause. All you have to do is work on the inside for a few months, make allies and gather information. You're the last group we know of; without you, we may not have the numbers needed to win this war."

She doesn't say anything, just lets me process this information. "I understand that. But I just can't leave my family. I have a partner, a daughter-"

"They could come with you," Blue interrupts, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I gasp. What is she thinking?

"They could live with you in the city, of course. Lena's a Soul - she could fit right in. Go to school, even, if you like."

"She's not a Soul. _Please _don't call her one," I repeat, my voice tense and almost angry. Why can't they just understand that she's completely human?

Blue sucks in a sharp breath and I can see that's she's trying to work it out in her mind. She doesn't ask, though. Just continues on. "Well, she appears to be a Soul, Wanda. Nobody would suspect anything of her."

"And Ian? How do you suppose I could bring him into the middle of a city, with Seekers everywhere?" My voice is harsh and I feel bad. But I can't help it - is she really so stupid that she thinks Ian could just walk around the city like anybody else?

Blue's eyes sink and I realize that, whatever her idea was, I would not like it. She swallows hard and starts to speak. "Your daughter gave me an idea this afternoon. I didn't want to say it in front of everybody, but I trust you." She looks me in the eyes and sees my confusion. How does this concern Ian? "Your daughter mentioned that we could give the Souls a reason to leave. Something about the planet or the humans that displeases them."

"Yes, but what?" I have to admit that Lena's idea was very smart. If we could just give them some sort of motive to leave, they probably would. After all, Souls only want the perfect, the ideal.

"One of the reasons our species thrives is because the hosts cannot fight back. Though we've experienced it slightly on this planet, the humans we take over are still not powerful enough to override us completely. Melanie told me today that you were inside of her body, but that she was able to sometimes speak for you, or even control your movements?"

"Yes," I agree.

"Some of our Souls have experienced similar things. The closest the humans have come to resisting their hosts, however, is biologically. I'm sure you're aware that some humans end up killing their inserted Soul as an immune response?"

"Yes. That happened with Sunny a long time ago." I recall the moment when Sunny's new body wouldn't wake up, when she was slowly deteriorating, her host attacking itself. Luckily, we were able to save her.

"Well, the Souls have gotten past that with new medicines and such. It's not a problem anymore. Really, the humans are becoming more and more easy to control as the years go by." Her voice has a tint of sadness and I realize that Blue really does consider our species horrible. She is giving everything she can - all her thoughts and energy - to the human resistance. "What Lena said about giving them a cause to leave Earth goes hand in hand with that. If we could somehow make it so that the human bodies were fighting back, their minds returning and eventually overpowering the Souls, they would _have _to leave."

I ponder this, considering what this could mean. If we could somehow get the humans inside of their hosts to rise up and rebel, we could reverse the roles of the Souls and their hosts. The humans would be in control, and the Souls would want to flee to the safety of another planet as quick as possible. It's genius, really.

Though I would love to discuss this more, one question still bugs me. "How does this relate to Ian?"

Blue purses her lips and looks right at me. Her silver eyes are warm and inviting, unlike the cold eyes of the Seekers. "If we could get this to work, some sort of medicine that would give the humans control, we could use it on Ian first."

"But, he's not a Soul . . ."

"I know," Blue says, nodding slowly. "But if we were to insert a Soul into Ian, then give him the medicine, he would still be himself. Just with silver eyes."

"No," I mutter, shaking my head.

"Why not? He would be completely in control. Still human - just looking the part. It wouldn't be immediately, of course. Our Healers and doctors here would have to develop this medicine over the next few weeks, months even. But once we were sure it works, he would be able to join you and Lena on the inside."

"No," I repeat.

"Wand-"

"No, Blue. I will not put a Soul into him," I say fiercely, standing up. I don't face her. How could she even think of something like this? Putting a Soul into the human I love so dearly? "What if it doesn't work? What if some nasty Soul takes control of him and he fades away? I can't risk that. I'm sorry."

Tears slide down my face and I wipe them away. I hear Blue shuffling around and she eventually touches my shoulder, turns me around to face her. "We would make sure it worked. We'd test it first, of course."

"I won't let that happen, even if he's fine."

Blue takes a long look at me before tearing her eyes away. I can see the anger in the lines of her face. The gears working in her mind, turning desperately, are almost visible to me. She just wants this to all work. "Fine," she nods. "You don't have to work on the inside, Wanda. Not unless you want to."

"Not without Ian," I reinforce.

"Yes," she says. "But only if you promise to help make this work. To help us figure out how to give the humans control."

"Okay," I agree, taking in a deep breath. "How can I do that?"

Blue flicks her eyes back up to meet mine, a sad smile on her face. "We need as many Healers as we can get."

* * *

"What do you mean, she needs Healers?" Ian asks me that night. Sunny's still with Jamie, so we have the room to ourselves until she gets back. Then Ian has to go back downstairs to sleep with the other humans.

As soon as I left Blue's room, I told Ian about everything. He didn't interrupt, not even when I explained how she wanted o use Ian as a test subject, but just let me talk. When I was finished, I finally sat down on the bed, putting my hands in my head. He wrapped his arms around me and waited till I gathered myself.

"She only has two Healers and one doctor living here. If she's going to develop this medicine within a month or two, she's going to need more people working on it."

"But why the time limit?" he asks me, furrowing his brow like he always does. His big, blue eyes are looking at me with a mix of concern and worry.

"She wants to rebel as soon as possible. The human population is only getting smaller - she doesn't want to risk it."

"So she wants us to find her more Healers? What about all of her connections?"

I sigh, just as confused as Ian is by this. "Blue told me that the Healers they're allied with can only devote so little time to helping the humans out. They can't blow their cover. Blue needs a team of Healers who can work on this constantly, all day, everyday."

"What are we supposed to do, though? Just snatch random Healers off the streets?" Ian laughs at this, trying to ease the tension. When he sees my tense expression, he rubs my back, hoping to calm me.

"No. She wants . . she wants to take ours."

"_What?" _Ian gasps, his voice harsh and full of surprise. I probably sounded the same when Blue told me of this.

"She wants us to give her the Healers we have."

"No," Ian blurts out.

"I know. Trust me, I'm not happy about this either," I sigh, resting my head against his shoulder. "But there's no other option. If we just take some random Healers, they might not be willing to help us. And according to Margaret, the other groups only have a Healer each, or none at all. We have three, Ian."

And it's true. Over the years, we've added two other Healers to our group, aside from Fords. Daisy, a younger Soul from the Flower planet, joined us ten years ago, when she caught us stealing boxes of medicine from the hospital. Instead of turning us in, she admitted that she'd been trying to find a group of humans for years; how much she wanted to help us.

Three years later, we met Echo of the Night, an older Soul who used to work with Fords. He had gone in search of his friend years ago, and saw him traveling with us on a raid. He easily joined the resistance, happy to be reconnected with Fords.

And then there was Jane, a human we found hiding out in an abandoned shack only five years ago. She used to be surgeon and has helped us tremendously over the years.

Not to mention Doc. All in all, we have five trained Healers and doctors, perfect for this sort of job. All of them are very intelligent and would probably be able to help out the medical group here tremendously. But we couldn't give them up, now could we?

"We can't just hand them over like bargaining tools. They're people, Wanda," Ian says. He's trying to keep the anger out of his voice, but I can tell it's hard for him. He cares about these people - especially Doc - so much, just as I do.

"I know," I murmur. "But without more Healers, Blue thinks it could take up to a year to figure this out. We need to help them _somehow. _It's the least we can do."

He doesn't say anything for a long while, just stares down at the ground and pinches the bridge of his nose. "What are our other options?"

"I leave you and work on the inside," I whisper. He growls in frustration, obviously not liking that idea either. "Ian, I know it's hard. Trust me. It's the last thing I expected to have to do. But all the other groups out there have given someone up to support our cause. We have to do the same if we want to win this. If we ever want to live outside, freely."

He takes a large breath of air and clenches his hands together. I stroke his back gently, then kiss his shoulder. He twists his body closer to me so that there's no space between us. Then, ever so quietly, he says, "Fine. But they get to decide if they leave or not. We're not forcing any one of them to go."

I smile slightly. I know this is hard for Ian to agree to. It's just as hard for me, but it's what needs to be done. "Okay," I agree.

We're going to give up some of our family to win this war.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this chapter is kind of boring and kind of short...BUT we've got a new romance going on...**

Two days later we're in the car, just minutes from home. After deciding on having to give up some of Healers, Ian, Blue and I told the plan to both of our groups. They were all pleased by the decision, thought it would be an effective way to drive the Souls out. The Healers in her group got to work immediately on it.

After exchanging a bit more information - about communication, raiding, tricks and such - we finally packed up our bags and got on the road. The ride was glum. Nobody wanted to talk about how we would inevitably be sacrificing some of our family. Though everybody was angered by this notion at first, they soon realized that it was our only possibility right now. Unless they wanted to let Sunny, Fords an I all work on the inside world. Either way, we'd be losing people.

We drive in silence. Ian's fingers are locked in mine - they have been since we left the motel this morning - and his occasionally gives me a tight squeeze, assuring me of his support. He knows this is hard on me. I'm basically trading the doctors' lives for mine.

Lena is beside me, flipping through the pages of a crumbling book. Her face is tinted in concentration as she focuses on the words. She always reads when she's sad.

"Almost there," Mel murmurs, breaking the hours-long silence. In the distance I can see the vague shape of the cave where we store the Jeeps. I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of it. We've been gone for only less than a week, but I somehow felt like I hadn't been home in years.

When we pull inside the cave I practically jump out the door. Ian follows, giving me a tight smile, and then checks to make sure Lena's behind him. He immediately shoulders our bags - refusing to let either Lena or I carry one - and we head off into the sandy, night sky.

The others run behind us, each of them moving as quickly as possible. When we make it to the caves, I breathe a sigh of relief, placing my hands on my knees and breathing heavily. The others catch their breaths as well before finally heading deeper inside. Before we can even make it to the plaza, people come pummeling at us. We're immediately drowned in a sea of faces and voices, all of which blur together. "Thank God you're all okay!" I hear Trudy say, smiling as she walks in.

"What'd you find out?"

"Everyone's here!"

"How many people were there?"

"Lena!" somebody calls. I twist my head to see Jason running towards us. Well, towards Lena. She smiles at the sight of him and he immediately wraps her in a hug. I look over to see Mel shaking her head. A son _should _hug their parents first, right?

Apparently not. I watch as Lena talks to Jason with so much excitement she could burst. Her hands move in a flurry of gestures as she describes the trip, her eyes filled with a familiar glint of wonder.

"Echem," Melanie coughs, raising an eyebrow. Jason steps sheepishly away from Lena and walks over to hug his mother, who rolls his eyes as he encompasses her - he's now the same height. Jared pats the boy on the back before pushing him back towards Lena, who jumps back into her conversation. Kyle and Jodi are talking with their twins - Will and Cami. Jeb is asking Jared about how the trip went. Jamie's with Freedom and Isiah, while Sunny chats with Lily and Paige.

"Hi, Aunt Wanda!" Cami says, coming up to me and giving me a hug. I wrap my arms around her tiny frame. She looks _just _like Jodi, with her petite body and thick, black hair. She wears it tied back in a tight braid, her blue eyes gleaming. "Uncle Ian!" She hugs him before wondering back over to her brother, who looks like he just woke up. His dark hair is touseled and his green eyes look heavy. The two of them are only ten, and I can't help but remember when Lena looked that little.

"So everything went A-Okay?" Jeb says, coming up from behind me. He gives me a quick hug before letting me answer. His eyes look tired and I can tell that his age is finally taking a toll on him. Ever since Maggie passed away three years ago, he's been growing more and more weary of when his own time will come. Jared's going to take over once Jeb's gone, though I hope that will be a long time from now.

"Yes," I reply. "We discussed a plan with the others on how we think we'll take back the planet."

"Great! Spit it out, then," Jeb laughs.

I eye Ian wearily and he shakes his head. "Not now, Jeb. We're all really tired. I think it'd be best if we just discussed it tomorrow."

He gives me a curious look - I can tell he's not happy with my response - before turning around and addressing everyone. "Okay, quiet down, now! Everybody's fine so why don't you all go back to bed. We'll have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning to discuss their trips. Got it?"

Everybody nods in unison. Ian chuckles as the old man walks away. Slowly, the group disperses and we make our way back to our room.

Lena shares a room with Cami, since they're the only two younger girls. Their room's diagonal from ours and I watch as the two saunter inside, Lena closing the door when she catches my eye. I shake my head and follow Ian into our own room, breathing a sigh of relief as I sink down into our bed.

"It feels good to be home," I murmur. Ian laughs and crawls into bed beside me, tossing his shirt aside.

"Tell me about it," he smirks before leaning over and kissing me.

* * *

**Mel's POV**

I'm almost asleep when I hear a faint knock on the door. I crack it open to see Jason standing there, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his face sunken in. "What's wrong?" I ask immediately, reaching out to him.

"Nothing, Mom," he says, brushing my hand away. I shake my head at him. He's such a _boy. _"I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay," I say, opening the makeshift door further so that he can come in. When Jared sees him, he sits up in bed, squinting in the darkness.

"Hey, bud. You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mutters. "I just wanted to talk to Mom . . . alone, maybe?" I laugh at how much like me he is, with his not-so-subtle hints and his humor. Jared laughs and climbs out of the bed, then heads out of the room, probably to the cafeteria or game room.

"So . . . what did you want to talk about?" I say like the stereotypical mom. Which I guess I am. I never thought I'd be - neither did Jared - but ever since Jason was born, I've seem to grown a much softer side. Especially when it came to him and his, well, _problems. _

He looks at me for a long moment before talking. He has blonde hair that curls at the ends. His eyes are hazel, like mine, but his face is nearly an identical match to Jared's. "It's about a girl," he murmurs. My eyes widen and I fight back some chuckles. He's _actually _coming to me to talk about this? That's a first.

"Let me guess . . . hmmm . . probably Lily, right? Oh, or Paige. Either one of them," I joke. "Oh, maybe Candy? She's pretty."

"Stop it, mom!" he says, nudging me in the side. I can't help but smile. "You know who it is."

I recall the massive hug he gave Lena as soon as we got back. Though it hurt me that he didn't come to me first, it also filled my heart with butterflies to see him liking Lena so much. "You know she's your cousin, Jay."

"Yeah, but not really," he shrugs, as if it doesn't matter.

"What do you mean 'not really?'" I question, twisting my body around so that I'm face to face with him.

He sighs, as if he doesn't want to go over this again. "Aunt Wanda's not really your sister, mom. She's not even the same species . . So Lena and I _technically _aren't related." He shrugs again and looks away from me.

"Yes, but that doesn't make her any less of a sister to me," I say, looking at him with worry. We've told him the story multiple times before - about how I got captured by Seekers, how Wanda was inserted into me, how I led her here to the caves. But for some reason he never seems to grasp the whole concept of our relationship. "But you do make a point," I say, not wanting to dwell on his beliefs about Souls and the real world. "So I guess it's _okay _if you like her." I can't hide my smile.

He runs a hand through his hair and looks away, obviously not really excited about asking for my advice. "Well, I . . I want to, you know, um, ask her out, or something, I don't know," he mumbles, stuttering and pausing throughout the whole mess of a sentence. "How do I do that?"

"Duh," I laugh. "You ask her! Come on, Jason, those classes with Sharon have to be teaching you _something." _

"I know, I know," he breathes, shaking away my hand on his shoulder. "I just don't know how. She's so . . . I don't know. Perfect. And I'm just me." He places his head in his hands and sighs. I reach out to touch him but know that he'd only push me back. Instead, I lean over and try to comfort him.

"Jason, you're not _just you. _You're a wonderful person; funny, smart, nice. Handsome, unlike your father," I laugh. He smiles meekly, though I feel like it's only for my benefit. "If you think she's perfect, than I'm _sure _she'll think of you as the same."

He shakes his head, obviously not convinced. "Thanks, but I doubt it. She hardly even notices me." He stands up to leave, obviously still distraught, and I catch him by the wrist.

"Jason, honey," I whisper, taking his hand in both of mine. "If you would have seen the way she was looking at you today, then you'd know that's wrong. She likes you, too. I'm sure of it."

He contemplates this for a moment before lifting the door open. "I guess," he mutters. Still not convinced. "Thanks, mom."

With that, he closes the door, leaving me to think about how my fifteen-year-old son has a crush and he came to _me _about it.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Ian and I head down the game room for the meeting Jeb called. Everybody's gathered there already, albeit a few people, and we take seats beside Melanie and Jared.

"Wanda," Mel says, nudging me to grab my attention. "We need to talk sometime today." She looks a little nervous - or is it worried? Either way, I can tell by her expression that she's serious.

"Is everything okay?" I mutter, not wanting Ian to hear. If he does, he'll freak out and go into over-protective mode.

"Yes, we just need to talk, though," Mel sighs before turning her attention to Jeb, who's standing at the front of the room. Jared's gotten up and now stands beside him, his arms folded across his chest.

Everybody quiets down and Jeb takes a long breath before speaking. "Now, as you all know, Jared and the others went to visit another group of humans. They've got a large resistance going and have many plans. Would you like to tell us about 'em, Jared?"

Jared nods and begins to relay the details of our trips. He talks about how large the place is, how many Souls and humans they have. He explains how they have Souls working with them on the inside, how they're slowly converting more and more people to our side of the war, and the way that they can communicate between groups. A few people ask questions that Jared answers to the best of his ability.

"Margaret's group has a plan to retake the planet. Wanda, if you would?" He raises his eyebrows at me and I stand up hesitantly. I face the group of people and give a weak smile.

"As you know, our numbers our not large enough to fight off the Souls. Their group discussed simply negotiating with the government, but many of us thought that would be stupid - we'd all get captured as soon as they saw us.

"But Lena had an idea." Lena's eyes go wide as I gesture to her and she gives an awkward shrug of her shoulders. Jason, who's sitting next to her, gives her a curious look. "She thinks that if we could somehow give the Souls a reason to leave, they'd have to. Something bad about humans that they just couldn't live with.

"As a Soul, I know that one of the most important things we look for in Hosts is the ability to overtake them completely. We all know that that isn't exactly the case with humans," I smile, grinning at Melanie. She gives me a knowing nod. "But the Souls have managed to keep humans under control for a while now; it's not a problem anymore. If we could somehow create a medicine that that fights the Souls' connection to its host, thus forcing the host to gain control again, the Souls would leave in an instant."

Nobody talks for a while. They just stare at me with pondering looks, worried faces and furrowed brows.

"Okay, so how do we develop this medicine?" Trudy asks, looking hopeful but unsure.

"Well, that's the hard part," I sigh, looking at Ian. He gives me a supportive nod, as does Jared beside me, and I continue. "Margaret's group only have a few Healers. Not enough to develop this type of medicine all alone in such a short amount of time. They need more Healers."

Nobody seems to comprehend what this means. Instead, Freedom just laughs. "Okay, so we capture a couple of Healers. No big deal."

"No," Jared says, knowing that I'm not comfortable explaining this bit. "They need people who understand both humans and Souls. People they can trust - not just random Healers we capture." Slowly I see faces starting to understand what we mean. Among them, Doc gives a worrisome look.

"You want _our _Healers to go with them?" Sharon gasps in disgust.

"You're kidding."

"No way they're leaving!"

"We need them!"

"Listen up!" Jared shouts, just as the mixture of angry voices becomes overwhelming. They quiet down as Jeb raises his rifle. "_None _of us are happy with this. But it was either give them some of our doctors for a little while, or put all of our Souls out in the world, for months, possibly. We have five doctors here. We don't _need _that many. We do, however, need all of the Souls."

"What do you mean, _give _them our doctors?" Andy says, standing up. "They're not objects we can just trade, Jared!"

"I know, Andy," Jared says. "But if we don't help them, they don't think they'll have enough Healers to come up with this. The other groups they're in contact with are all fairly small. They only have one doctor, if any. We have _five. _If we can help them out in any way, this is it."

"I don't get why giving away our doctors is any better than giving away our Souls," Sharon mutters.

Ian stands up, then, his face red and filled with anger. "_Because, _Sharon! If we put Wanda, Sunny, Fords, Echo _and _Daisy into the outside world to work undercover, we're going to die. It's impossible for us to live without them now. And they'd be gone for so much longer."

"Are you sure this isn't about your own emotions, Ian?" Andy sighs, gesturing to me. I bite my lip.

"No, of course not! The fact of the matter is that we only have to transfer three of our doctors to their group for just a few weeks. Wouldn't that be better than losing all the Souls for months?"

Andy doesn't reply, though I can see that he's still not happy with this.

"It's not fair!"

"The Souls should go."

"We need doctors, Ian!"

"ENOUGH! Everybody shut it or I'll shoot ya." Jeb yells as loud as he can. He cocks his gun and the crowd immediately silences. I shudder and Jared places a hand gently on my shoulder to calm me down. "It's my house, so I'm going to make the call. It seems to me that either way, we're going to be losing some people for quite a while. Now, let me just ask this, which of the doctors would we lose?" He looks towards me and I turn to Doc.

"It'd be up to Doc. They said they'd like three people to help them out. Whoever's willing to go for a while, or whoever thinks they'd be able to accomplish this task. We wouldn't force anybody who didn't want to to leave." Doc nods solemnly before turning to Fords to whisper something in his ear. The Souls nods and I wonder if he's willing to leave us.

"Okay," Jeb nods. "And they said that if we chose to have some of ya work on the inside, it'd be all of ya?"

"Yes."

Jeb presses his fingers to his forehead and thinks for a moment. He shoots Jared a glance before exhaling loudly. "Who's volunteering out of y'all to leave us for a while?" he sighs, directing the question at Doc.

"I'll go," Fords says almost immediately, standing up.

"Me, too," Echo says.

"I would go, but I think it's best if I stay here," Doc says. Everybody nods in agreement.

"We need one more," Jared murmurs, just as Jane stands up hesitantly.

"I might have an idea as to how to make this sort of medicine," she smiles. "I might as well go and try."

Everybody erupts into their own little burst of conversation as the three doctors walk over to Jeb, Jared and I. "You sure about this?" he asks them.

"Yes," they all reply in unison.

"We understand that it's what must be done," Fords says. He gives me a gentle smile. If anyone is right for the job, it's Fords. "When do we leave?"

Jared clears his throat and speaks up. "Margaret's sending someone over to pick you up. They should meet us tomorrow at the Store a few miles out. They'll take you to their place and you'll stay with them for a few weeks. You'll work with their Healers and doctors for as long as it takes to figure this out. And when you're ready, you'll come back and we'll retake what's ours." He smiles at the thought of it. Jared probably wants the planet back more than anybody else. "I know it's hard, but no one else had a better solution."

"We understand, Jared," Jane says, smiling lightly. "It's a war. I'll do what I have to do to win."

"Thank you," I tell her. She shrugs as if it's no big deal.

"Alrighty, then!" Jeb says, rubbing his hands together. He then turns to the rest of the humans, who are still in the midst of their private conversations. "It's settled. They're leaving tomorrow! Now grab some food and get to work!"

The crowd dissipates and I'm left standing there, thinking about what we just decided. We're sacrificing three of our own for this war. I desperately hope it's worth it.

* * *

Mel practically drags me from the game room to do dishes. She's supposed to be in the fields today but she must've traded with Lucina so that she could talk to me. It's just me and her, then.

"What's this about, Mel?" I ask her as she hands me a bin of dirty dishes from this morning. She lifts up one of her own and we make our way down to the washroom.

"Jason," she mutters, bending over to set her bin down. I do the same, then dip a rag in the water and start cleaning the first plate. "And Lena."

"What about them?" I ask.

Mel finishes off the plate she's holding and sets it down in a separate pile. She purses her lips and shakes her head. "He likes her, Wanda. A lot."

I raise my eyebrows at this, a bit surprised. Jason likes Lena? As in, _likes her, likes her? "_So?" I ask her, shrugging. Does that mean anything? Why is she telling me?

"So, _Wanda, _I think that we should talk about it! I mean, it's our kids we're talking about. Don't you think it's kind of important?" she laughs, putting down her dish. She looks at me with utter disbelief.

"I'm sorry . . I just don't get it. Why is it so important?" For some reason I feel like I'm missing something. I mean, yes, it's exciting that somebody likes Lena. But I always knew somebody would. She's a wonderful person, after all.

Mel wiggles her nose and then folds her legs in front of her. "I guess you never had a parent breathing down your back about who your crush at school was," she mutters. "Parents . . I don't know why, but they always fuss over their kids' love life. It's just a thing. Almost like a tradition. When I was in high school, my parents would practically ask me every day whether I liked anyone or if anyone ever liked me." She shakes for a moment, reminiscing in the past. "I don't know. I guess it's kind of stupid. I just thought that it was kind of cute, you know? Who would have thought that our kids would like each other."

"Wait - Lena likes him, too?" I say. She's never told me that. How could I not know?

Mel laughs. "I'm just guessing. They seem really close, but you never know. But if so - we might end up grandparents together." Mel's smile grows wider and she bursts out into laughter.

"Oh, gosh, wouldn't that be interesting," I giggle, shoving a bowl into the water. I think about the way Lena hugged Jason when we got back yesterday. How they were sitting together at the meeting. The way she always seems to perk her head up when somebody mentions his name. "You know, maybe she really does like him."

"You think?"

"Yeah," I smile. I can picture them, holding hands, walking through the caves together. Just like how Ian and I were when we first became partners. Or like Sunny and Jamie. So young and innocent, full of great expectations for love. "Is he going to ask her out?"

Mel rolls her eyes and chuckles. "Well, he's planning to. Someone might need to give him a push."

"You mean Lena?"

"Uh huh," Mel says, her lips forming a devious smile.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, we bid Fords, Echo and Jane goodbye. Kyle and Sunny drive them out to the Store where they'll meet Margaret. Saying goodbye was hard - horrible even - but I'm glad it wasn't me leaving. It's a selfish thought, but it's true. I'm relieved I get to stay here, with my family.

After everyone leaves, I pull Lena aside. I remember my conversation with Mel yesterday - about how Jason likes her but is too scared to say anything. The thought brings a slight smile to my lips. "Lena, I have something to ask you."

"What is it, mom?" she asks, slightly annoyed. She gets to work in the fields today rather than go to school - something she considers a privilege. She's probably anxious to start swinging a scythe around.

"I was wondering . . . if you, well," I stutter, unsure of how to phrase this. I've never had a mother. I don't know how these talks work exactly. Melanie was the one who had to give Lena "the talk" since I was just about as oblivious as her. I mean, sure, I know the basics, but even after almost forty years, I don't completely understand the human body. "If you maybe, well, _liked _Jason?"

"_Mom!" _she gasps, her eyes growing wide and angry. She shushes me furiously and I put up my hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay!" I laugh as she places her hand over my mouth. Paige eyes us suspiciously as she walks by, but continues on anyway. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering."

She removes her hand and wipes it on her pants, rolling her eyes. "Well, no. I don't. I mean, no. I don't like him. At all," she stutters.

"You're almost as bad of a liar as I am," I smile and she nudges me in the shoulder. Her face is flushed red and I can tell that I'm embarrassing her. I place a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeeze. "Lena, I'm just trying to help. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No, it's fine," she says, shrugging my arm away. "I just . . . I don't know. It's so confusing, you know?"

"Trust me, I know," I laugh. "But I think he likes you, too. Well, I know that."

Her head pops up at that and a smile creeps onto her face. "How do you know that?"

I sigh, not sure if I should say this. Then again, Jason's never going to have the guts to ask her out, so I might as well chip in. "Jason told your Aunt Mel that he did. But he's too scared to ask you on a date."

"Really?!" she asks excitedly, her smile growing wider by the second. She starts playing with her long, dark hair, fixing it up into a neat braid.

"Yes," I smile. "Melanie thinks it'd be a good idea to give him a little push. Drop some hints that you'd say yes." I raise my eyebrow at her and she makes a funny face. I guess I'm not the best when it comes to the whole relationship-advice thing. Especially considering I've only ever dated Ian.

"I guess so," she finally says, folding her arms together. "But what if he doesn't actually like me like that? I mean, Jason's so confusing. I never know what he's thinking. . . . Aunt Mel could've misinterpreted it."

"Trust me, Lena," I tell her. "He definitely likes you. Now go!"

* * *

***LENA POV***

I head to the fields after talking with my mom, adrenaline rushing through my veins. Jason likes me? _Me? _Of all people in the caves. That's just . . . wow. My heart flutters at the thought of it.

When I reach the fields I snatch a scythe that's leaning against the wall and scan the room for him. My dad sees me and smiles warmly, swinging his tool and chopping off a large chunk of wheat. Aunt Mel grins as I walk by, a suspicious grin on her face. I have a feeling she's in on this whole set-me-up-with-Jason-thing. Jared is right next to her, working away, so he doesn't seem to notice me as I pass. Many others fill the fields and I start to worry that he isn't here. But then I see a familiar circle of golden hair. I practically race over to him, only to be stopped by Freedom, who catches my arm and pulls me over. "Hey, Lena! Do you wanna play some soccer later?" he asks, smiling wide. His teeth are perfection, shimmering white.

"Um, maybe later, Freedom," I say, biting my lip. I'm anxious to go talk to Jason. "Why don't you ask my dad if we can have a match tomorrow? That'll be fun!"

Before he can reply I dart off down the rows of wheat until I reach the very back, lefthand corner, where Jason is silently hashing the crops. I sit down a few feet away from him and start working. It takes him a full minute before he looks up and seems to acknowledge my presence. "Oh," he mutters, slightly shocked. "Hi, Lena."

"Hey, Jason," I say, nerves working their way through my body, winding between my bones and around my limbs. "So, I was wondering what it would be like if everything was normal, you know? Like if we were in high school, had groups of friends, went on dates . . ." I linger on the last word for a little too long. Jason seems unaffected by it. My dad's taught me everything I know about the world before the Souls took over. He's told me countless stories about his popularity in school, his funny parents and his adventures in college. I've always wondered what it'd be like to live in a world where you're free to go outside. Where you don't have to live in fear of being captured. "And I was wondering," I continue. _Don't get carried away, Lena. Stay on topic. _"what you think about it?"

"Huh?" he says, arching his eyebrow. He puts the tool down for a second and gives me a crooked smile.

"What do you think about it all? You know, 'normal' life?" I give him a curious glance before turning back to the wheat, scything away.

He takes a moment before answering, resuming his work. "You know what I think, Lena." He sighs and takes a deep breath. "It's all a bunch of bull."

"Jas-"

"There's nothing out there, Lena. Whatever old life our parents had is gone. This is all there is now - right here in the caves. It's all we've got left. The Souls . . it's their world now. Why don't we just pretend it doesn't exist."

I drop my jaw open and quickly close it. Everybody knows how Jason feels about the world right now. He refuses to face the reality of it all, but rather contorts it to his liking. Aunt Mel and Uncle Jared are worried about it - they think he has some mental issues - but I know that it's just a defense mechanism. He's probably terrified of what could happen if we're caught, if we become one of them . .

Like my mom.

I brush the thought away. My mom isn't like them. She isn't a parasitic, cruel species that steals the world of another. Nobody thinks she is, either.

"Jason," I say, breaking my train of thought. I don't want to think about my mom right now. I need to stay on track. "Aren't you curious at all? I mean, just a little?"

He gives me a sideways glance before shaking his head. "Nope."

"Not even about school? The parties? The food?" I pause for a moment and look him in the eyes. Here it goes. The "subtle" hint I'll drop once more. I probably get my horrible flirting from my mom. "The dates?"

He pauses at that, his scythe frozen in his hands, hovering over a row of wheat. His eyes flicker to me before he proceeds to chop away. I'm worried that he still hasn't gotten it - that this was all a waste of time - when he practically throws the tool down and looks me straight in the eyes. His irises burn a brilliant shade of hazel and I can sense the heat building within him. "You know what, Lena?" There he goes again with his crooked smile. His voice is intense, but it's somehow soft. Soothing, almost. "I actually _am_ a little curious. I sometimes wonder what it'd be like to live in a world where you're free to move. Free to learn. Free to love." His eyes flicker away on the last word and I worry he's going to get too scared. But no. I won't let that happen. If he gets cold feet, I'll ask him myself. There's no delaying it - this date is _going _to happen.

"Don't you want to know what that's like?" he asks, his voice quiet, his eyes boring into me, seeing deep into my soul.

"Yes," I murmur, unsure of what else to say.

"Why don't we figure out?" he shrugs, standing up and throwing a towel over his shoulder. His face is red and I can tell he's nervous. He's usually not this straight-forward, this confident. But something seems to be flowing inside of him, making him stronger. I grin up at him, blushing pink. "Lena Wes O'Shea. Will you go out with me?"

"It took you long enough," I giggle.


	11. Chapter 11

**Though I don't title my chapters, I call this one "Date Night." Enjoy the O'Wanda :) **

*Wanda POV*

"Is she gone?" Ian asks from the bed as I peek my head out of the room. I can just make out the retreating silhouettes of Lena and Jason, who are having a _date _in the game room tonight. I helped Lena get ready earlier, letting her borrow one of my nice dresses from years ago. I twisted her hair into a loose bun, a few, loose curls still framing her face. She was worried she looked too formal - that Jason would make fun of her for it - but I assured her she looked beautiful. And she did.

"Yes," I smile, shutting the door again. I twirl around to look at Ian, who's laying back on our mattress, arms open, waiting for me. "We've got at least an hour." A wicked grin paints itself on my face and I nearly pounce onto the bed. Ian catches me and flips me over so that I'm laying down on the bed, staring up at him. His sea-blue eyes encompass me.

Over the years, I've become more . . . human when it comes to being with Ian. He's brought out the more animalistic side of humans that the Souls despise so much. But I've grown to like it. Love it, actually. I feel so much heat, lust, _friction _when I'm with him, the desire within me burning so much that it's turned my selfless, shy self into someone who can feel what they want to. And right now, all I feel is this thirst.

Ian starts to kiss me, starting at my lips and moving down my neck, caressing my waist with his hands as he does so. I close my eyes and breathe in his cozy scent. Every ounce of me aches when his lips collide with my skin, sending waves of fire through my skin, melting my blood and flooding my heart. I run my hands through his hair, holding on as he moves further down my body. I eventually get sick of the barrier between his lips and my skin; I place his hands at the hem of my shirt and practically force him to pull it. With a devious smile on his face, he rips it off of me, exposing my lacy, red bra. His eyes go wide at the sight of it and I giggle. He then takes my hands and guides them to his own shirt, which I slowly tear off of him, reveling at his gorgeous, chiseled chest. I place my hands on his abs and lean into him, my mouth at his ear. "I want you to do something for me," I whisper. Before he can respond, I press my lips against the side of his neck. He tastes so sweet, so deliciously satisfying. I move down to work on his chest and I hear him moan. It's a low, sexy sound that makes me shiver.

When I pull away, he takes a long breath before responding. "Anything, my love," he smiles, wrapping his hands around me. His touch is cool. I close my eyes. His hands find the clasp on my bra and he slowly works it off, pressing his body against mine. That stupid piece of fabric angers me, keeping us apart. I slide my arms out of the straps and let it fall off of me, leaving my bare breasts pressed against his hot skin. He works his hands over my body, placing kisses wherever he wants to. I almost forget what I wanted to ask him; his touch is so hypnotizing.

"I want you," I whisper, grabbing his head and tilting it up to look at me. His eyes sparkle and I can see the yearning in them. He doesn't want to wait any longer. "I want you to give me the _best _early birthday present," I smile, moving my hands down to his crotch, unzipping his jeans. He lets me, watching me with a slight smirk. When I slide them off he does the same to me, still not answering. My legs shiver as he rips the fabric off of me, but they quickly heat up as he places them around his waist so that I'm straddling him. "Ever," I add, leaning forward. My hair falls over us, a curtain to hide our exposed selfs.

His kisses me gently on the lips and then moves to my ear. "That," he replies, nibbling my skins, making me tilt my head back. "I can do."

* * *

*Lena POV*

Jason leads me to the game room around dinner time. At one point he reaches for my hand but then pulls it away, obviously not sure how to act. It's not like I know, either. I'm about as in-the-dark about dating as he is. Neither of us really sees it in the caves - all the relationships have been around since we were born.

When we reach the room, I stagger back in awe. "Wha-" I start, but am unable to finish. The sight of it all makes me dizzy.

Laid out in the center of the room is a blanket, one that I recognize from his room. Surrounding it in a wide circle are small candles, each a different color, filling the room with warm and wonderful scents. On the blanket is what looks like an old basket. I'm curious as to what's in it, but don't ask. I'll let Jason explain.

"You like it?" he says, managing to knock me out of my state of shock.

"I - " I stutter, unable to think in full sentences. "I love it, Jason. It's amazing . . . just," I start, not really sure how to phrase it. I tuck a loose strand of hair back into my bun before stepping slightly closer to the amazing set up. "What is it?"

Jason laughs, blushing slightly and looking down. He shakes his head and I worry I've done something stupid, something that will make him hate this whole night. Instead of answering, he takes my hand - gently, unsurely, but takes it nonetheless - and leads me into the circle of candles. He lowers himself down and I follow his lead, crossing my legs behind me and looking at him hesitantly. "It's called a picnic," he shrugs, laughing at my confused look. "My mom told me about it. I guess it's an old tradition - you'd go to a park on a sunny day, lay out a blanket, and bring a basket of food. I don't know. Maybe it's stupid . . "

"No," I laugh, placing a hand on his arm as he ducks his head. He must think I hate it. "It's sweet." There's a long silence that passes and I awkwardly brush my dress down. It's a short, simple blue dress my mom had from years ago. It's strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. It clings to my waist but then flows out. It has a bit of silver stitching, which my mom obviously thought would bring out my eyes.

I feel him watching me, fishing for something to say. "My mom suggested it," he finally sighs, filling the silence. "She said it was kind of the 'classic date' when she was growing up. Something she saw in movies all the time . . I don't know."

"I thought you didn't believe in all that," I laugh, raising my eyebrow at him. Every time you mention something about life before Souls, Jason will deny it. The fact that he just openly talked about it is almost startling.

He looks shocked but quickly recovers. "No . . I, uh, don't, really. But that's all I knew about, um, dates so I just went with it."

"I'm glad you did," I say, hoping that sounded okay. _God, I suck at this. _I look up at him and grin as he awkwardly fishes through the basket, pulling out plates and cups and such. He must feel as strange as I do; food will be a good distraction. His hair is brushed to the side, showing off his lovely eyes. He's wearing a simple tee shirt and shorts, but I can tell that he put a lot of thought into the get-up. After all, the clothes _match, _something you rarely see with his fashion sense. I smile at the thought of him standing in front of his pile of clothes and debating over what to wear, just as I did.

"Um, I would've gotten something nicer, but we're saving a lot of the perishables for your mom's party tomorrow," he shrugs, pushing a plate to me. Laid out on the blanket are a few rolls, some apples, and a plate of sandwiches. Luckily we raided on our way home from Margaret's; having fruit is one of the best things in the world. I instantly grab an apple and bite into, relishing its sweet taste.

"This is perfect," I smile when I finish chewing. "You don't know how badly I wish there was real food in the caves. When we're out on raids, we eat the _best _food. You wouldn't even believe it."

"Yeah, I wouldn't," he replies, almost sarcastically, but I can see that he's smiling. I giggle and take a peanut butter sandwich from the pile, taking a huge bite. I haven't eaten since breakfast, I've been so nervous, that I nearly scarf it down before speaking again.

"What do you think about my parents' plan? With all the Healers going to discover some sort of 'cure' to get the Souls to leave?" I ask.

Jason finishes his sandwich before answering, squinting his eyes as he thinks. He looks so much like Aunt Mel when he thinks it almost makes me laugh. "I don't think it will work. I just . . . I don't think there's a way out of this, Lena. I know everybody thinks I'm crazy for believing this is all there is, but it's not that. I'm not stupid. I _know _there's a world out there. I just choose to ignore it. It only hurts to think that there's a whole life I'm missing out of because some horrible species came and stole it from us."

I bite my lip and worry that I've hit a rough spot. He's never talked about _why _he thinks there's no world outside. Only that he does. To hear him say this, to _me, _makes my eyes go wide, my heart pick up.

"Don't you see, Lena? My whole life I've been trying to embrace the fact that _this _is my life. _This _is all I have. Going on raids, seeing what could've been, would only make that worse. You've seen too much, Lena. And now you want too much." He takes a deep breath and I hold mine. "Everybody in the caves has seen that world; they all know what they want. But me- I'm content with what I have. I don't know what lays out there. There's no image in my head that I keep reaching for. _That's _why I don't mind if we live in the caves. I don't know what I'm missing out on."

I rub my lips together and look down. I didn't know he thought of it like that. I guess you can't want what you never knew. I reach my hand out to him, place it gently on his leg. He looks up as I touch him and I give him a light smile. "Jason, I know that you think it's a _bad _thing to want what humans once had. But I can't help it. It's all my parents ever talk about-"

"Your parents? That's _all _they want? Even your mom?"

I stare at him in confusion, aghast, almost. "Yes. There's nothing more she'd like."

He laughs - a harsh scoff that makes me shrink back a little. "Your mom doesn't even know what she's missing, Lena. She's not even from here! She's part of the reason we're trapped in a cave with the danger of getting killed - or worse - _captured _every single day! How could she want the old world back when she's in control of this one?"

I don't mean to, but I start crying. Tears roll down my cheeks and I struggle to breathe. "It's not her fault, Jason! She . . . she didn't _choose _to invade Earth! She was just sent here, that's all," I defend. I feel as if my lungs are shrinking, folding in on themselves.

"So? She could have spoken up, said it was wrong. But no, she just had to take over _my mother's _body, control her life. Do you know how horrible that is? Your mom _stole _my mother's life. How can you believe that she's innocent?"

"Jason!" I scream, furious. How did a night that started out so lovely turn into one so horrid? "What are you saying? She's your aunt, Jason. She's family. I thought . . . I thought you were better than that."

"I'm sorry, Lena," he says, shaking his head and looking down. "I just . . . I can't wrap my head around all of this. It's too much. Why don't . . . why don't we just forget this conversation ever happened?"

I swallow hard and shake my head. "No," I mutter. "Why would you want to talk to me, anyway? I'm just a disgusting Soul."

His eyebrows scrunch together and he leans over, grabbing my hand. "Lena, no, stop. You're not. You're completely human. It's not your fault your mom's a Soul."

"Look into my eyes, Jason," I whisper, holding back tears. I may be human, but there will always be a bit of Soul in me. A bit of my wonderful mother within me, no matter how much Jason may hate it.

"That doesn't me-"

"My name, too," I shrug. "It's a Soul's name."

"Lena? No, what are you talking about?" he asks, completely aghast. He doesn't seem to grasp it.

"No, Jason. My name is Lena of the Stars." I stand up and brush my skirt down, wipe my eyes. "And I'm proud to be part-Soul. Because my mother is a kind, gentle person. Someone with a lot more humanity than you."

I bite my lip and run out of the room, ignoring his calls. The tears pound down my cheeks as I run, leaving a trail on the hard, cave floor.

* * *

**Mwahahaha Jason isn't exactly a good guy! Tell me what you think of this side of Jason. Will he apologize to Lena? Will she accept him? Let me know your thoughts :) **


	12. Chapter 12

"Make a wish, Aunt Wanda!" Cami cheers, leaning over the picnic table towards me. The others echo the words and I hesitantly lean over the cake. Its one, flaming candle flickers in front of my face and I close my eyes. Ian taught me years ago about this tradition - making a wish and keeping it a secret, hoping it will come true. I wish that our Healers will discovery a way for the humans to retake their planet. Our planet, I correct mentally, blowing out the spark of light with a swift breath. The others clap and I lean away from the cake, letting Trudy's steady hand cut it into thin slices so there's enough for everyone.

Sunny was kind enough to go out on a quick raid alone and pick up the cake for my birthday, though I told her it was fine. We try to celebrate birthdays as much as we can in the caves, since we never know when it will be our last. It's hard to keep track of the days but we do the best we can to celebrate everyone's birthday. Especially the kids'. It's the least we can give them.

"What'd you wish for?" Ian says, circling his arms around me from behind. I lean against him, fit my head under his, beside his neck. He kisses the side of my cheek before spinning me around so we're face to face.

"You know I can't tell you," I whisper, grinning up at him. "It won't come true. And I really want it to come true, Ian." I look into his eyes and he breaks into a grin. Before I can lean in to kiss his perfect lips again, he's holding a fork to my face, a small bite of chocolate cake perched on it's edge.

"I-I didn't even see you pick that up," I murmur in awe. When did he get a piece?

"I was busy distracting you like this," he smiles, kissing my again, gently and quick. He places his finger on my chin and pulls my mouth open. I let him slide the fork between my lips, the sweet, decadent taste making my taste buds burn. I almost moan; it tastes so good.

"Happy birthday, sis," Mel says, coming up to us and breaking our moment. Ian hands me the plate and steps aside, probably off to get his own slice.

"Thanks, Mel. But we really need to stop celebrating. We don't need to risk getting caught to pick up some cake," I say, trying to laugh to easy the tension. But that look on her face tells me she's not buying it.

"Wanda, just enjoy it, okay? You deserve a party and some cake every once in a while. We all do - remember, my birthday's in two months," she whispers the last part with a wink. Mel loves her birthday, mainly because of what Jared always does for her, though I don't really want to get into detail about that. Let's just say it's hard to fall asleep that night, with all the noise.

"I never forget. I've already got a present in mind," I say. She rolls her eyes, heading back over to Jared. I take another bite of cake as Lena walks by me. She's not eating anything, her face slightly grim and her eyes lifeless. "Hi, honey. What's wrong?"

"Huh?" she says, looking up as if she missed something. She stops in place and turns to see me, a concerned look smudged across my face. Her eyes sink further. "Nothing. I'm just . . . tired that's all. Don't let me ruin your special day!"

She starts to pull away towards her room but I reach out for her arm, reining her in. "Wait a second - Lena! What's wrong?" I ask her. She bites her lip and looks away. I follow her eyes to where Jason's standing, next to Will and Freedom. and belatedly remember last night. "Did something happen with Jason?"

"No . . . it's fine, mom. I'm fine," she repeats. "Just have fun, okay?"

"Lena of the Stars," I say sternly, looking her hard in the eyes. The silver in them is almost blurred around the edges, fading into her irises as if washed away by her sorrows. They make me sad. "Don't be like that. You know you can talk to me. Please talk to me, honey. What happened last night?"

She looks down at her hands, clasped in front of her and sighs. I place a hand gingerly on top of hers and squeeze tightly for support. "He's just not who I thought he was, okay? It didn't work out, that's all."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. You know how Jason can be sometimes; I'm sure he was just nervous or something. Why don't you talk to him? Try to figure out what went wrong?"

"It's not like that, mom. I just . . . I don't like him anymore." She purses her lips together. I can tell she's conflicted about telling me or not. "Can I just . . . talk to you later? After the party?"

It breaks my heart to see her like this but I nod anyway. "Yeah, of course. Bye, sweetheart." She smiles slightly and stalks away.

* * *

Later that night, I knock gently on Mel and Jared's makeshift door. "Who is it?" Mel calls from inside.

"Wanda," I say back.

I hear some murmuring and I realize I must have interrupted something. A few seconds later, Jared awkwardly opens the door. His shirt is inside out but I don't say anything. "Hey, Wanda! Having a good birthday I hope."

"Yes, Jared. It's been lovely," I laugh. He rolls his eyes at me but lets me through. Melanie is sitting on the bed, her legs crossed, the blankets pulled up around her. She looks uncomfortable and I mentally smack myself for walking in at such a wrong time. "Can I talk to you for a second, Mel. It's about Lena . . . and Jason."

"Oh," she gasps. Her eyes shift to Jared and she instantly becomes serious. "Yeah. Jared, can you give us a few min-?"

"No, it's fine," I interrupt, waving Melanie off. "Jared can stay. He should hear this, too."

He gives me a worried look and paces over to the bed, sitting down on the edge and looking hard at me. "Is everything okay, Wanda?"

Mel's eyes shift between us and her brow collapses forward in thought. "Something happened with them last night, didn't it?"

I nod sadly. I wish it weren't true. But after what Lena told me this afternoon - about what Jason said to her - there's no way to avoid it. We have to talk about this. "Lena . . . she said that Jason said some pretty horrible things to her."

Mel instantly leans closer. Jared takes her hand and I can see the gears in their minds practically turning. I hate to tell them this - _ why _do I have to tell them this - but it's necessary. If Jason really thinks all of that stuff . . . I don't even know where to begin. "What did he say?"

"Well, he admitted to her why he doesn't want to believe there's a world outside," I say, hoping to start off with the positives. Maybe it will easy the tension, make things easier. Though I highly doubt it. "He said he won't miss what he's never known. So if he refuses to see what's out there - all the people, the places - he'll never want it. He thinks it's made him content with the caves, with life here. And maybe that's a good thing . . . maybe it's not. But at least you know why, now."

Mel gives me a strange look. "Well at least he's not crazy," Jared laughs. He obviously can sense that I have some bad news to bring and is trying to do the same as me; ease Mel into it. "That's good, babe. So he just doesn't want to know what he's missing. It makes sense."

"Yes," I murmur in agreement. Mel's still silent. I worry that she has already assumed the worst, though that Jason hurt Lena or accused her of something. He would never do that, I know. Jason's a good kid. He's just . . . confused, that's all.

"Wanderer," she whispers, flipping her head up and looking at me right in the eyes. I can practically see her heart tearing apart as she speaks. She knows. She knows what I'm about to say. "What did he say to her?"

I take a deep breath and look at the ground. "He thinks that I stole your life. That I . . I'm the reason we're in hiding. He thinks I'm guilty for all of this," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. I haven't encountered hatred from the humans in the caves since I arrived her, decades ago. I thought I had overcome the feelings that came with these accusations, but I was wrong. After not hearing this type of cruelty in so long, it just stings more. "He thinks I'm horrible. He hates me."

"Oh, Wanda," Jared mutters and I can feel the shock in his voice. He wasn't expecting that. But Mel's silent. She knew it was coming - she knows her son better than anyone. Mel stares down at the sheets on her mattress and sighs. "You know that's not true, Wanda. He loves you, he does. He was . . ."

"What? Angry? Sad? Mel, if he hates me, he hates me. There's no changing that. It's fine. I'm . . I'm fine. I'm just worried about Lena. She didn't take it very well."

"No, Wanda. It's not okay," Jared interjects before Mel can continue. "The fact that he said these things, that he even _thought _them is outrageous! What the hell was he thinking?"

"Jared, please, stop," I say, reaching out to get him to calm down. "Please. I'm fine. I've heard worse things before. But Lena's heartbroken. You know how she gets when people talk about Souls - she gets all defensive and irrational. She doesn't know how to respond. She thinks Jason hates her because I'm her mother, that he's disgusted by the fact that she's part-Soul. She's falling apart, Mel. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry," Mel mutters, shaking her head. Tears rush down her cheeks and she immediately tries to cover them up. "I'm so, so, sorry, Wanda. I never - I never thought that he'd be like this. Jason. He was always so kind and caring. But the fact that he said these things doesn't shock me. He doesn't deserve Lena, Wanda. She's way too good for him. I'm so, so sorry," she mumbles, almost as if thinking aloud. Jared places an arm around her and I scoot closer to her on the bed, rubbing her leg gently.

"It's not your fault, Mel. I only told you this so that we could work things out. Don't worry about me, please. We need to focus on our kids." She nods vacantly, her eyes fixed on a random point in front of us. Jared gives me a worried shake of the head. "How about I talk to Jason and you talk to Lena? Maybe it will give them a different perspective on things?"

"No," Mel says almost immediately. "You shouldn't have to talk to him after what he said. He's acting like a monster. I can't beli-"

"Mel, please. I still love Jason, despite what he said. I think he's just fighting his own war right now; he needs some consolation. I'll go talk to him; you talk to Lena. Okay?"

She doesn't respond for a while, just looks down at her lap. I haven't seen Mel like this in forever. She's always so tough, so vibrant and spunky. But now she looks broken, destroyed by the words of her son, her own child. It pains me to see her like this. "Okay."


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning I pop into the "school," after breakfast. Everyone looks up at me with excited faces - hoping I'll tell them they don't have to go today, that we're playing soccer or something of the like. Even Lena looks a little happy to see me, while Sharon just looks annoyed. "What is it, Wanda?" she asks, placing a large book down.

"Sorry, Sharon," I apologize. Despite the fact that surviving doesn't really depend on the ability to find a derivative or neutralize an acid and base, Sharon's set on teaching these kids as much as she can. It's a good thing, but sometimes she can take it a little too seriously. "I need Jason for a moment."

Jason's sitting in the back, leaning against the cave walls. His head is down but at the mention of his name it pops up. His wide eyes stare at me with worry, concern. He probably thinks he's in trouble for what he said. He shoots Lena a quick glance, though she ignores him, still angry, before standing up. "I'll have him back in a few minutes, Sharon. Sorry for the interruption." She just rolls her eyes and continues with whatever she was teaching before. Jason awkwardly follows me down the hall towards me room, his arms folded, his eyes low.

"Am I in trouble?" he asks I open the red door to our room. I let out a light laugh, closing it tightly. He's sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands shoved in his pockets, his head hung low.

"No, Jason. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" he asks, a little sharply.

"Jason . . . I know how you feel about me. And I get it, I do. I just wanted to talk about it . . . see what exactly you're thinking," I tell him, sighing. I look at him with sadness, a deep kind of regret for not addressing this problem earlier. Maybe if I would've interacted with him more as a kid, played with him or something, he would've grown more fond of me.

"What do you mean 'how I feel about you,' Aunt Wanda?" he questions, raising his eyebrows.

"Jason, it's okay. You don't have to pretend. Lena told me what happened the other night; what you said." His eyes widen at that and he curses silent under his breath, just like Jared.

"Look- I - uh, I'm -" he stutters to apologize, blinking rapidly

"Shh, it's okay," I say, placing a hand gently on his arm. "I'm not mad. I just want to know why you feel this way. Why you think of me as . . as guilty for all of this." I gesture around to the caves, to what life has become for us. He slumps over more.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Wanda . . . I just. I don't know. It's so hard, growing up down here. I feel so claustrophobic in these caves, trapped in here with a certain death. I was angry, that's all. I don't really think that about you - I _know _it's not your fault. I just . . . " he trails off, running his hands through his hair.

"Just what, Jason?" I encourage. "You can tell me. You _know _won't get mad at you," I laugh. He smiles a little at that. Despite my long time with the humans, I still rarely get mad at people. And if I do, I usually keep it to myself.

"It's not that I don't like you, Aunt Wanda. I just don't like _Souls. _At all. I mean, what kind of species takes the life out of another and then claims is for 'mutual benefit?' How is that justified at all? My parents . . . they had their whole lives ahead of them; families and friends, school and jobs. It was all just taken by these stupid little creatures who thought they had some sort of _right _to control us. I just . . . I don't get it." He pauses to look up at me, check to see if I'm offended yet. And I'm not. I know that everything he says is true. I agree with him, completely.

I nod and he continues. "And I know that you didn't choose to come to Earth; that you didn't choose my mom's body. But you didn't stand up for us, either. You just let the Souls keep stealing peoples' bodies without so much as an objection. How could you _do _that?"

He takes a long breath and puts his head down again. He pinches the bridge of his nose and I smile slightly at him. How _could _I do that? I still don't know the answer. But I have to try to give Jason one, try to settle this all. "I don't know, Jason. I guess it's because that's how I am. That's _who _I am. Souls are just made to inhabit other creatures; we don't know anything else. In all the other planets I've been to, the hosts have cooperated with us, even benefited from our insertion. I never knew that it was wrong, I guess. It's all that I knew." I look away, towards a picture of Ian and resting on a small table. It's from one of our first raids together in Pet's body. He's looking at me like I'm everything in the world, and I'm just laughing at the camera, not used to being subject to photography. Ian accepted me for who I was. Surely Jason can do the same, even if just a little bit.

"But when I came to Earth, when I was placed inside of your mother, that all changed. I got a new perspective on things. I saw Melanie's side of the story - one that I had never seen before, in any of my eight lives. I saw how much she lost, how hard she struggled, how long she fought to save her and Jamie. It was only then that I realized how wrong Souls are. It was then that I realized how much my species had taken from the humans. It was then I knew I had to find a way to give it back to them."

Jason's silent this whole time; his head down, his eyes focused on nothing but the floor. But I can tell he's listening. Every now and then his eyebrow will twitch at something I say, his head will tilt in to listen closer. I continue on. "Your mother . . . she means the world to me, Jason. I don't know what I'd do without her - literally. If I had been inserted to another host, I might still be out there, living in their horrible utopia as if everything were okay. I'm so glad I'm not, Jason. Your mother gave me the chance at a real life with people who feel and care and _love. _I know I stole some time from her and I regret that everyday. But she's never once blamed me for it."

"She hasn't?" Jason asks, his voice low and quiet, but full of curiosity.

"No. I'm a fairly modest person, but I can't deny that I saved her in some sense. Your mother would have died without me; or she would've been stuck inside some other Souls' head for a long time. If I wasn't inserted to her, she never would have found the caves, her family, or even your father. She thanks me for that all the time." I take a long pause, thinking over the time we spent in the desert together, wandering helplessly for our lives. How much we depended on each other at that time, how hard it was to realize that we were probably going to die then and there. "We saved each other, Jason. I saved her from imprisonment in someone else's mind and she saved me from becoming a horrible Soul. Without each other . . . we'd both be nothing."

Neither of us talks for a long while, each of us thinking this over. Mel made me who I am today; I can't deny that. She showed me how to love, how to smile, how to fight for what I believed in. She gave me life when I gave mine away; she brought me that. I could never be more thankful to her.

"What I told Lena," Jason whispers, still a little shocked by this whole conversation, "about how you stole her life. I . . . I'm sorry I said that. I didn't realize how much you helped her. I guess I was just being stupid. I'm sorry, Aunt Wanda." He stands up runs his hands through his hair once again, reminding me of Ian. "Do you think she'll forgive me? Lena?"

I laugh and place a hand on his shoulder, standing up as well. "Yes, Jason. I definitely think she will." I give him a gentle smile. "But you have to remember how Lena thinks. I've taken a lot of hate for being a Soul; I'm used to it. I know how to deal with it. But Lena . . she doesn't. She's only ever been accepted in the caves. You need to keep that in mind when speaking with her. She's sensitive to any mention of Souls, whether good or bad. Just . . . be careful, Jason."

"I will," he says, walking towards the door. Just as I'm about to turn away I feel arms wrapping around me. I smile as Jason hugs me tightly, obviously having a change in heart since our talk. "Thanks, Aunt Wanda. You're pretty cool . . . for a Soul," he laughs.

I giggle at this and swat him away, shaking my head. "Get back to class." He chuckles and heads out of the room. I sigh and fall onto the bed, hoping Mel's conversation with Lena went just as well. Maybe by the end of the day the two kids will be talking again.

"WANDA!" somebody's shouting outside, making me sit up straight in my bed. I hear footsteps pounding down the hall and immediately rush outside of my room. Jamie's running at full speed towards me, practically barreling into me - which isn't a good thing, considering he's so much taller than me. I stumble backwards and he moves away.

"Woah, Jamie. You okay?" I laugh. I haven't seen him run this fast to me since he was little.

"Wanda, they did it!" he says excitedly. His eyes are filled with excitement and happiness. I give him a curious look, not quite understanding. "They _did it, _Wanda. They found a cure!"


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days are chaos. Everybody's hustling around the caves with excitement, nerves practically crackling through the air. After Jamie told me the news, Jeb called a formal meeting to discuss it. Apparently, Margaret sent a message to us, which had just arrived. It simply stated that, "We've figured it out. Your Healers will be home shortly."

I practically fainted in joy. Everybody was dancing with happiness, glad that we've finally figured a way out of this. And before we knew it, plans were being made, meetings were being scheduled, and problems being discussed.

After three days of going nuts with excitement, the sound of a car rumbling in the distance makes me jump. I'm in the storage hole, sorting through some of our remaining foodstuffs, when I hear it. I burst outside to find a sleek, black van approaching, rolling softly along the desert sand. I recognize it as one of Margaret's, remember seeing the car parked in her driveway.

When they climb out of the car, I can't help but barrel into them. I hug Fords first, happy to see him healthy and alive. He's practically glowing, his silver eyes full of hope for once. "Wanda! It's incredible to see you again," he smiles, pulling me away slightly so as to study me.

"As to you, Fords." I can tell by the look on his face that he's discovered something incredible with this cure of sorts. He's always thirsty for knowledge, and it's obvious that he's finally fulfilled one of his cravings.

"Oh, it's good to be back!" Jane squeals, looking at the nearly hidden entrance to the caves. She embraces me quickly before turning back to the van to collect her belongings.

"Who drove you?" I ask, just as Echo's stepping out of the van. Behind him is Miles, who's wearing the same creepy grin he had back when I met him. I hug Echo and give the strange Soul a nod of acknowledgement, before turning to Fords for an answer.

"Miles here drove us, but Blue came along, as well." He twists his body around, as if awaiting her entrance. And right on cue, the petite, black-haired beauty hops out of the passenger side of the van, stretching her arms and legs when she lands.

"Hello, Wanderer. It's a pleasure to see you again," she says, almost tiredly. The ride must have been long for them.

"You, too."

"You have received our message, yes?" I nod in agreement. "Wonderful. Well with the help of your Healers and mine, we have discovered what we think is so-called 'cure' for insertion. I would like to tell you all of the details, but I would feel safer if we were to go inside. Shall we?"

"Yes, of course," I smile, gesturing for them to head through the tunnels. Miles stays outside, apparently on watch for any trouble, while the rest of us pile inside. "Ian, Jared, Mel, Jeb!" I call, hoping that _somebody _will come. "They're back!" I yell, my voice echoing through the purple rock.

"Aunt Wanda?" somebody calls as I near the center of the caves, the others trailing behind me. I see Will peek his head around the side of a wall and grin as he catches sight of Jane, Fords and Echo. "You're back!"

He runs over to hug them while I continue to search for someone else. "Will, can you run to the fields and let everybody know that they're home?" He gives one last squeeze to Jane - who is not only an amazing doctor but _great _with children - and scurries off to find the others.

"Wanda, is that you?" Trudy says as we enter the dining area. She's working in the kitchen, stirring together some sort of soup, the smell practically intoxicating.

Jane practically bombards Trudy from behind, who laughs and hugs onto her friend. "Oh, thank God you're all okay." The others reunite with her as a steady stream of humans pour into the room, each thrilled to see our doctors returned.

Ian finds me immediately, smiling and holding me close to him. "I can't believe this," he whispers into my hair. "This is actually happening. We're . . . we're going to get our lives back."

"It's incredible, isn't it?" I smile, looking up at him. He nods and kisses me on the forehead, just as Jeb starts to quiet everyone down.

"Okay, everybody, shut your mouths!" he calls, though his voice isn't as powerful now that age is starting to take its toll. "I know your all excited that we've got our doctors back, but there's more important business to be discussed. So, if we could all take a seat and get started, that'd be great."

Conversations quiet down and we all take a seat. Lena finds her way to us and sits beside me, her expression and tense and worried. "As we learned just a few days ago, we have discovered a way to end the Souls' occupation on our planet. Our doctors have worked very hard alongside those of Margaret's and we're very proud to have them back." Jeb coughs for a few seconds before resuming. "Now, I'm gonna hand it over to Blue, who will explain it all for ya."

Jeb steps off to the side and the young Soul takes his place. "Hello, everyone. My name is Blue of the Sea. I have come to you from another group of resisters to bring you this exciting news. With the help of your healers, we have found away to fight back against my species. Your Wanderer's idea to eliminate the Souls by giving them somewhat 'defective' hosts has proven successful. We have created a medicine that fights back against the Soul's insertion, eventually forcing the Soul to remove itself or, well, die. The human will be unharmed in either case.

"We have made this cure so that it can be easily distributed throughout the world. It is a liquid mixture that we plan to inject into the food of Souls, starting with the Seekers and government officials. We will then continue to inject this serum of sorts into the majority of food and water. Once ingested, the medicine starts working immediately, as we have tested it on multiple subjects over the past few weeks. We hope to not kill off many of the Souls, but it all depends on how they react to it. If possible, we would like to get the message across that the only way to save themselves is to leave this planet. If they choose to listen, most will be unharmed. However, if they ignore us, the remaining Souls will die off, leaving their human bodies free."

Blue tucks her hands behind her back, awaiting some sort of response. I try to process what she's said - about how not only are we successful, but we have a _plan _as to how to retake our planet. It's incredible. Ian squeezes my hand and I lean against him, overfilled with delight.

"So when do we start?" Kyle asks, breaking the silence.

Blue glances towards Fords, who then takes over. "During our drive back to the caves, we have already started injecting the medication into some items at stores. We even accessed a few water towers, which we assume will prove to be a great success. Our next step would be to send out groups to the Seekers headquarters. If we can takeover them first, the rest of the population will be easy."

Murmurs flow throughout the crowd - some of confusion, some of excitement, and others of worry. Lena turns to me with her eyebrows knit together, her expression scared. "Mom," she whispers, not looking at me. "What if . . what if it gets to you? Or Aunt Sunny?" she asks worriedly. I purse my lips together and look at Ian, unsure of what to say. How _will _ we protect ourselves from this?

"Don't worry about that, Lena," Ian says, answering for me. He looks unsure, but I can tell that he doesn't want Lena to worry, even if he is himself. "We'll make sure we raid well enough before we spread the cure. Mom's going to be fine." Lena nods hesitantly and turns away from us. I give Ian a look of worry - there's no way we'll be able to keep enough food for all the Souls here to survive for so long. Surely Blue must have thought this through, though. I make a mental note to ask her later.

"How much of the medicine do you have made?" Doc asks, his brain hungry for information.

"Not much," Jane sighs. "But once we spread the word to the other resisters, they'll be able to help in processing it. And all we really need is the threat of the medicine. If we can get enough Souls to _believe _they're endangered, they'll leave."

"I agree," Jeb says, scratching his forehead. "I think it'd be best if you and I have a chat together about the logistics of it. Jared, Fords and Doc, come with me. Everyone else, get back to work!"

The crowd immediately disperses, a constant buzz of anxiety filling the room. Everybody is anxious for this revolution to start, as am I. Ian kisses me goodbye as he heads back to the fields to work. I make my way back to the storage whole to finish taking account of our remaining products. I practically shake as I count each can of food, my mind is so full of emotions.

The idea that Ian, Lena and I could live happily as a family, outside of this cave, makes my heart pick up. We could have a beautiful house, fresh food, jobs, even. Our lives wouldn't be confined to raids and fear. We could be free, for once.

I smile as I sort through things, only one thought burning in the back of my mind. How will the good Souls - the ones like Sunny, Fords and I - survive through this all?

* * *

**Okay sorry if that was a really bad chapter. I'm really tired right now but I wanted to post something for you guys. Hopefully next weeks will be better. Let me know what you think, though!**


	15. Chapter 15

***three months later* LENA POV**

"Stop it!" I laugh, poking Jason in the ribs as he tries to inch my shirt off, teasing me with tickles as he does so.

"Why? You know you're enjoying it," he says, raising an eyebrow. I can't deny that.

But still, I feel uncomfortable and tug my shirt down all the way before pushing myself up into a sitting position. After the whole horrible first-date with him, he came and apologized to me. I'm still not sure if Aunt Mel put him up to it or if he did it on his own, but I'm glad that he did. I understand his feelings much better now, and he's slowly starting to open up to the Souls. He's not as closed off as he was before.

He even went on a raid with us, once. It was to help distribute the serum that gives humans control of their bodies back. It was only two days long, but the whole time Jason was in awe of everything. He finally got to taste good food, sleep in a real bed, see the world as it is. He admitted that being around so many Souls made him very uncomfortable, but I appreciated his honesty. He's really trying hard.

"Yes, but I'm not ready for that quite yet," I say, playing with my hair. We started dating right after he apologized, though I feel like we've only just met. Jason's become a different person since then. He's more open and caring, more involved in our current situation. I like it a lot, but it's hard to adjust to. I feel like I'm just discovering who he really is now. "Besides . . . we're too young for that kind of thing."

"Too young? Lena, age doesn't seem to matter anymore. There's no laws here in the caves. We're free," he says, taking my hands in his.

"I know but . . ." I start, unsure of what to say. "I just want to wait till this is all over. Till all the Souls are gone and we can finally be completely free. I don't want to rush anything, Jason. We have time now."

And it's true. Just a few weeks after our doctors returned, word of our "cure" started spreading amongst the Souls. The hospitals became full of awoken humans, Souls started panicking. No matter how many insertions the Healers tried on these humans, the Souls kept removing themselves or, sadly, dying.

Margaret says that the majority of Seekers have been cured, according to her sources. Apparently they've already started to evacuate the planet, sending Souls slowly but steadily off to other planets, new worlds and old alike. Everyone in the caves is ecstatic, practically jumping up and down as the days go on.

My mom's noticed it, too. She's frequently going on raids with the other Souls to check the status of things. She says the towns are less crowded, many houses for sale. The hospital is a mess, apparently. And the docks are packed to the fullest with boxes and boxes of cyrotanks.

"How long do you think we have? Till they're all gone, I mean," Jason says, tracing circles on my hand with his thumb. I smile and lean into him, closing my eyes and feeling his warmth.

"Maybe a few months. Maybe more, maybe less." I'm hoping less. The ache to just get out of these cramped caves is practically killing me. I feel a tug inside of me every time I look outside; the anxiety to be free building up.

There's a knock on the door, startling me. "Lena, honey! Are you in there?" my mom calls, peeking her head in. Jason immediately scoots away from me, just a little, so as not to anger my mother.

"Yeah, mom. Why?"

She's dressed in a simple nightgown, hanging loosely on her thin frame. Over the weeks she's gotten slightly skinner, as she hasn't been eating much. She tries to hide it but we all know she's worried about getting cured by accident. We made sure to stalk up on a lot of food before we spread the serum, but we want to be safe. If my mom were to digest it by accident . . .

I don't want to think about it.

"Your Aunt Jodi just talked to me. Cami's having a rough night apparently. She was wondering if you wouldn't mind heading to bed early. She thinks having you there will comfort her. You could maybe even sing to her, see if it will help."

"Oh," I say, a bit surprised. I was wondering why Cami hadn't been at dinner. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Mom sighs, her silver eyes full of worry. "She just has had some nightmares lately. Jodi would stay with her, but she's still sick. Do you mind at all?" Aunt Jodi's been sick for a few days now. Nothing serious, just a bad cold, but the last thing she'd want is for Cami to catch it.

"No, of course not. I'll be there in a second," I tell her. She smiles at me in thanks, gives Jason a slight nod, and then seals the door again.

"You're just going to leave me here?" Jason asks, raising an eyebrow.

I sigh, leaning over and kissing him quickly on the cheek. "I wish I could stay, but I can't leave Cami all alone. We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine," he sighs.

I stand up and head to the door, but he pulls me by the wrist and spins me in. Classic. He kisses me on the lips, pulling me close and holding me tight. His lips taste like fire, like hot, savory sugar pouring into my mouth. I smile against him and pull away. "Goodnight," I giggle. I turn around and leave, heading to comfort my cousin.

* * *

*WANDA POV*

"You really think so? Just a few weeks?" I ask, shocked as Ian tells me the news. We're laying in bed, his arms curled around me, my legs draped over his.

"That's what Jeb thinks. Apparently the Souls've sped up the shipping process by a lot. They're losing more Souls everyday and they don't want to risk anything." He takes a long, deep breath. "I can't believe it, Wanda. In just a few weeks we could be out of here, wherever we want, living in a nice house with just us and Lena."

"I know," I smile, leaning onto his shoulder. The thought makes me smile. "I just can't believe we did it, Ian. We're actually beating them . . . driving them out without so much as a word to them. It's incredible, really." I take his hand in mine and squeeze tightly, listening to the steady beat of his heart. I close my eyes.

"How do you think it'll all work? Rebuilding the world," I say after a moment. That part's always confused me. Will the old President take his job back? Will policemen remain policemen and doctors as doctors? Or will we start from scratch. How many people will even be left?

"I actually don't know," Ian says. I can practically hear the smile in his voice. He strokes my hair gently, his calloused fingers feelings so warm against my skin. "I doubt things will go back to the way they were. I think we'll actually try to incorporate the Souls' way of life more. I mean, it's not like their lifestyle was wrong. Their technology was great, their economy amazing, and their trust of each other is unbelievable. If we could maybe try to take all the good from the Souls and bring it into our old idea of the world, we might be fine."

I smile at the thought of that. Two species joining together to create the ideal world, despite our past differences. "I hope so."

Ian kisses the top of my head and pulls the blanket over us. I cuddle in closer. My mind starts to blur into sleep. "We're okay, Wanda. Everything's okay."

**Sorry this is a short chapter, but it's almost over! Only a couple chapters left (maybe two and then an epilogue? we'll see). R & R if you like! Thanks **


	16. Chapter 16

A few weeks later, we're sitting the motel room, the television turned on to the news. Everyone's huddled on my bed, leaning forward, anxious to watch. Ian and Lena are on either side of me, and I can feel Mel's hand on my shoulder from behind. Jason is sitting next to Lena, squeezing her hand. I smile at the two before turning my attention back to the screen.

"Our Healers' efforts have shown that the human body is slowly resisting our insertion. Soon enough, none of us will be left alive with a host. It's in our best interests to stop that from happening," a Seeker, dressed in a crisp, black suit announces on the screen. She's standing in front of what must be the White House - Ian's told me about it. There are crowds of Souls on the screen, all with frightened faces. At least fifty Seekers stand in a semicircle around the one speaking, all with solemn faces.

_This is it, _I think. _Finally. _

A week ago, Margaret informed us that the Seekers' were planning to make a worldwide announcement today. We planned a trip to the nearest motel to watch the announcement live; it was too exciting to miss. Most people stayed at home - after much resistance - while only a few of us went to hear the news. My family, Mel and Jared's, Jodi and Kyle - though their twins stayed back at the caves - Jamie, Sunny, and all the other Souls living with us. With so few Souls left, we wanted to bring all of ours on this trip in case we ran into trouble. We couldn't risk anything after how far we've come.

"We don't want to endanger our species anymore by remaining on this planet. Despite its benefits, the risk of death is too high," the Seeker continues. A ripple of nods run through the crowds, some faces full of relief, others of anger. Apparently the Souls don't always agree on everything.

"Come on," Ian whispers, leaning forward even further. "I can't take it any longer." I take a deep breath and tighten my grip on his hand. This is what we've been waiting for. It all comes down to this.

The Seeker on the screen is quiet for a long time, surveying the reactions in the crowd. She has long, brown hair twisted into a braid and a tight, scrutinizing face. She reminds me of my Seeker from so long ago, the way her eyes flicker back and forth in anger. "Because of this, we will start a full-on evacuation immediately."

I suck in a deep breath. It worked. It _worked. _I can hardly breathe, my mind is so full of excitement and shock and disbelief and joy. Ian grabs me and kisses me anxiously, his lips pressing against mine eagerly. He pulls back and looks into my eyes, smiling bigger than I've ever seen. His sea blue eyes are glowing, so full of hope and wonder and happiness. I can practically see our future - a real future, together, as a family - painted in his irises. It's so beautiful.

"Oh, God, Wanderer," he whispers, cupping my cheeks. "This is really happening," he breathes.

"I know," I smile, tears rushing down my face. He pulls me to his chest in a long embrace. "I love you, Ian."

He rests his chin atop of my head and runs his hand down my back. "I love you, too, my Wanderer." I stay there for a moment longer, listening to the Seeker finish her speech, all the while tucked in Ian's arms. One quick glance around shows me that everyone's rejoiced in practically the same manner. Jared and Melanie are cuddling on the bed, smiles plastered on their faces. Kyle gives a large "woo-hoo!" before attacking Jodi. Jason and Lena share a hesitant kiss, though I can tell that they both want more. _K__ids. _

"With the help of our Healers, Seekers, and other specialists, we hope to have every Soul shipped off to the planet of their choice by the end of the month." That's two weeks. In _two weeks _we could have the planet to ourselves. I can hardly breathe. "Of those hosts who fought back against us, roughly 70% of them awoke after. We've been keeping the humans in hospitals, under our watch, but it's been decided that we will let them go. We will leave the humans as the are and let them continue their lives without us. They have been a wonderful species to share a body with, but it seems as if we're not completely compatible."

Ian practically shouts in excitement at this. They won't kill the humans. _Any of them. _I laugh in excitement, though tears are rolling down my face.

"If you would please . . . ." the Seeker continues on, giving instructions on how to choose your planet, where to go to get removed from your host, why you need to remain calm. Jared flicks off the TV and the screen goes black. We all stare at it for a moment, still in shock, in awe, that this is really happening.

"I can't believe this," Mel whispers. I turn around to see her hand over her mouth, her eyes full of water. She laughs to calm herself down and I smile at this. Before I know it, we're hugging each other, arms entangling, our tears practically mixing. "You did it, Wanda. You figured it out and you got us our planet back," she sobs into my shoulder. I laugh against her, unsure of how to reply. Everything is still processing; I don't completely understand yet.

"_We _did it, Mel. We all did. If it wasn't for you . . . I don't know where I'd be right now," I say, pulling away so that I can look at her. "I love you, Melanie."

"Well of course you do," she laughs, nudging me in the side. "We're sisters. We have to love each other." Jared comes up from behind her, hinting that he wants some time to talk this over with her. Mel shoos him away. I can practically feel Ian chuckling beside me. "And I love you, Wanderer. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Jared pokes her in the back and she laughs. "Okay, second best. But let me remind you, mister, that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Wanda so don't-"

Ian pulls me away before I can hear the end of Mel's argument. He picks me up and twirls me around before kissing me again, his lips warm and soft, tingling against my own. His body feels so wonderful pressed against mine. It takes all the strength I have not to rip his clothes off right now. But I remind myself, we'll have plenty of time to celebrate in the future. We have all the time in the world now.

"Let's eat!" Kyle yells after a few minutes, breaking off the squeals and kisses, the laughing and crying. We all make a circle on the carpet as Jodi passes around bags of pre-made food I picked up earlier at the Store. Her face is practically glowing.

I grab a container of pasta I chose for myself, while Ian picks out two large burgers. I laugh at his appetite. We double checked that this Store's food wasn't contaminated by the cure already, even though the majority of the cure went to the water towers. We didn't even distribute that much - the threat of it was enough to drive the Souls into a state of panic.

Everybody laughs and talks while we eat, sharing what the thing we're looking forward to most about freedom is. Kyle says a real soccer tournament, though I know he's joking. Jodi says she wants a white picket-fence house, like in the movies. Jamie says he's looking forward to the fresh air, while Sunny says she's excited to experience what snow is like on Earth (as she lived amongst ice for her entire life with the Bears). Jared wants a home-cooked meal, to which Mel laughs. Like Mel's the house-wife type. Melanie is eager to travel to new places, explore what's left of the world. The other Souls, like Echo and Fords, say how they want to experience life on Earth without the Souls' interference. Jason says he's looking forward to actual school, which surprises me slightly. Ian says he can't wait to show _me _the world, which makes me blush. Lena tells us that she'll just be happy to be able to live without fear.

I look over at her and smile at that. "So am I. I mean, I can't wait to experience all that you've told me about in the past. When you describe Earth as it was before we invaded, it sounds amazing. A perfect place. But I'm looking forward to being able to live normally and happily, without worrying that we could get captured or killed everyday." I take a long breath. I can almost feel everyone's gazes upon me as I look down at the floor, unsure of how to describe this. "I can't wait to feel like I've finally found a home. So that I can stop wandering and just settle in for one more, perfect life. Here, with all of you."

Lena places a hand over mine and squeezes lightly. The look on her face is irreplaceable. So full of hope and excitement; she's so ready to see the world as it should be. A world where we're free.

So am I.

* * *

**THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE. THIS IS NOT THE END. STAY TUNED!**


	17. Epilogue

***8 years later***

"Come on, Ian! We're going to be late," I call from the kitchen, placing the fresh cookies onto a plastic plate. I hear footsteps as he runs down the stairs, just as I finish wrapping the plate in plastic. Ian walks over to me and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead. I smile, snatching up the plate, and guide him to the door. "Can you grab my bag?"

"Got it," he says, leaning over to pick up the large beach bag leaning against the door, stuffed to the fullest. He flips off the lights and opens the door for me. I head into the garage and quickly unlock the car doors, practically flying into my seat. Ian laughs at me and takes his time, finally settling down in the drivers seat. "What are you so worried about? She won't be mad at us if we're late," he laughs, pulling out of the garage and onto the clean, familiar street.

"I know," I agree, biting my lip. "I just haven't seen her in so long, you know? I miss her, Ian." Ever since Lena and Jason got married last year, I've barely seen her. She moved a couple hours away and it's rare that she visits anymore. The last time I saw her it was . . . Fourth of July? No. That can't be right. That was _months _ago!

"I do, too, babe. Mel's house is only a few blocks away. We'll be there in no time." We asked Lena to stay with us for the week that they're in town, but of course Jason wanted to stay with his parents. They got in last night, but Lena refused to have us come over till today for the party. It's Melanie & Jared's 25th anniversary, and everybody's coming over to celebrate.

"Do you think she's okay? What if she doesn't like her job? Do you think they treat h-"

"Wanda, calm down," Ian laughs, placing a hand gently over mine. "You talked to her last week on the phone. She said she was fine and I'm sure she is. Stop panicking." He shakes his head at me and I can't help but smile back. I guess I am a little overprotective of her, even though she's 24.

Just a few minutes later, we're pulling into their. We aren't the first one's here - there's at least seven other cars parked on the street. Ian barely has time to turn off the car before I'm hopping out and making a mad dash for the door. I almost forget the cookies and turn back for them, but find that Ian already has the plate in hand, and my bag strung around his shoulders.

I knock relentlessly on their door. They have a small house - just big enough for the two of them - but it's one of the prettiest I've seen. It's warm and cozy, easy to think of as _home. _Not to mention that they have a large pool in the back, making it our favorite spot for family get-togethers.

"Wanderer!" I hear from inside, just before the stained-glass door swings open. She pulls me into a large hug, squeezing me so tight I wonder if she's been working out lately. Knowing Mel, that's probably the case.

I hug her back, the small on my face impossible to wipe off. "Happy Anniversary, Mel!" I smile. "We brought cookies. I know they're Jared's favorites." Ian hands her the tray before placing a quick kiss on her cheek. She then smiles and lets us through. We know the house so well by now; we guide ourselves to the deck outside.

I walk outside into the warm, summer air. The sun's not too bright, but it still gives the air a nice, fuzzy hue. Tons of people are crowded around the pool, scattered across the yard. "I told you we were late," I mutter to Ian, who rolls his eyes in response.

"Mom! Dad!" I twist around to find Lena rushing up onto the duck to greet us. She rams into me at full force, almost toppling me over seeing as she's much taller than me by now, and I squeeze her tightly.

"Oh, Lena! God, I've missed you so much," I say against her hair. She pulls back and gives her father a hug. Ian kisses her on the forehead before letting her go. "How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine," she laughs, tossing her long, dark hair behind her back. It's grown all the way down to her waist by now and she refuses to cut it. Her silver eyes sparkle under the sun and I can't help think of the first time I saw those beautiful, little eyes. She's grown up so much since then. So much has changed in the world. "My job is great. The kids really like me. Well, at least I think they do," she laughs. She recently became a history teacher for middle schoolers. Ian advised that that's the worst grade to teach, but Lena seems to love it.

"That's wonderful, honey," Ian says. "Is Jason around here?"

"Yeah," Lena says, scanning the crowd. "He's down there with all the boys." She points to a cluster of boys sitting by the edge of the pool. I spot Jamie, Will, Jason and who must be Jared - though it's hard to tell with the sun blocking my view.

"I'm going to go say 'hi' to him. I'll see you later," he says, taking off without so much as a kiss on the cheek. Once Lena and Jason started dating, it was obvious Ian was happy to have a "son" he could talk with; you know, about sports, girls and such. I laugh as he runs off.

"How are you, anyway?" Lena asks, smiling down at me. She's always worried about me for some reason, making sure I'm fine. I guess she's just concerned that I'm still not being treated fairly by everyone. It's true that most humans have come to accept the remaining Souls on the planet over the years (considering the fact that we're the main reason any of them are alive). But many of them are still fearful of Souls, scared will take over their bodies at any moment. It's a rational fear and I understand it, but Lena's constantly scared for me.

"I'm fine, honey. You don't need to worry about me," I tell her, touching her arm gently. She looks down almost sadly at me. God, she's so mature. When did that happen? "Tell me more about school."

"Oh, well . . " she starts, obviously not wanting to talk about her. "The kids are really great. They're actually really interested in what we're learning. Most of them don't care about the American Revolution or things like that, but now that we've moved onto more current events," she explains. It's obvious from her tone that she's talking about the Souls' invasion. "they seem excited to learn."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, it's nice. I met some of their parents the other day at Open House. A few of them are Souls, you know? It was really nice to meet them."

I know I shouldn't ask that - shouldn't bring up old topics - but I can't help myself. "Are any of their kids like you?"

She opens her mouth as if to answer, then closes it. I can sense the wound reopening in her eyes. "No. None of them," she whispers. It's never really been a sore topic for her - the fact that she _looks _like a Soul - but after we retook the world and she discovered no one else was like her, it became one. And we've met plenty of human/Soul couples. But none of them share a similar case. Not even Jamie and Sunny, whose daughter was born just three years ago.

"You're just special, Lena. In every way," I say, though I probably sound like a cliché annoying mother. "Do you mind if I go find the others? I still haven't seen anybody but you and Melanie."

"Oh, yeah, of course!" she says, happy for my change in subject. "Jason's probably looking for me anyway." She scurries off towards the group of guys while I make my way towards the lawn. I spot Sunny laying down on a blanket beside Jodi and practically jump on top of them. "Wanda!" Sunny gasps when she sees me standing over her. She pops up and gives me a tight hug, as does Jodi. We talk for a little while about our lives - how our kids are doing, what our jobs are like, etc. - before I make my way over to everybody else.

I reunite with everyone: Fords, Lily, Kyle, Trudy, Doc, Jamie, Jared and the others. We talk for a long time, sharing stories and swapping jokes. I'm standing by the pool, recounting old times with Jamie, when someone comes crashing from behind me. I scream as I'm flung forward and flopped down in the water, immediately soaked and shivering. Just as I'm coming up for air, something large hits the surface, creating another explosion. I spit water out of my mouth and try to see clearly.

Ian. Of course.

I make out his face from under the surface; his dark black hair, his sculpted face. And his wonderfully ripped chest. He breaks the surface and takes a large breath before pulling me close, laughing with me. I should be mad at him for pushing me in - let alone, in my clothes! - but I can't help but smile when I look into those perfect, ocean eyes.

Before I know it, the pool erupts in chaos as everyone jumps in, creating splashes and waves. The cool water rolls across my skin and I bury my face in Ian's chest. Laughter and cries of joy fill the air as I watch Mel and Jared jump in the pool, hand in hand. I can't help but smile.

Ian pulls me off to the side of the pool and wraps his arms around my waist, bringing me close. "Remember our first swim together?" he asks, pushing his forehead against mine. My face flushes at the mention of it. The first time we swam together was back in the caves, right after I got inserted into Emily's body. It was much more than a casual swim, and I can't help but blush even deeper.

"Yes," I whisper, a giggle rising in my throat. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know," he says, pulling away, obviously not sharing some sort of secret with me. "Just wondering."

"Oh, come here!" I say, clawing at him and pulling him to me. His lips are hot against mine, sparkling, tingling. My legs wrap around his underwater, the feel of the cool liquid making me even more anxious. His hands run through my dripping hair and I trail mine down his abs. He slides his tongue into my mouth and I have to hold back a moan. Heat rushes through my body despite the cold water and I deepen the kiss, oh so eager.

"Hey, it's _my _anniversary, Wanda! Save that for yours," Mel yells, interrupting us. I pull away, shocked and a little embarrassed. But the smile on her face relieves me as I realize she's only kidding. Before I can reply, Jared pulls her in close for their own little celebration.

Ian and I continue where we left off, lost in each other's love; human and Soul entwined together in a beautiful display of silver and blue.

* * *

**THE END!**

**So I hope you liked it. Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews. I can't believe so many people actually liked Reinserted that they wanted a sequel! I hope this met your expectations!**

**I'm not going to write any more long host fics, but if you want me to write a one-shot, I will! **

**THANKS FOR READING 3**


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